A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain said on Monday that the party and presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar will not sanction Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike for anti-party activities.
This comes after Governor Wike threatened that Rivers State residents would not vote for Atiku in 2023.
Wike claimed that Atiku did not consult him before naming state-based members to his campaign council.
The party chieftain who spoke with Vanguard about Wike’s comments revealed that the PDP and Atiku have continued with their campaigns.
The main opposition party, according to the source, will not beg Governor Wike or his allies to campaign for the party.
The source said:
The campaign has started, if they want to join, they are welcome and if they are not interested, good luck to them.
To be honest with you, I don’t know if Wike or his allies are trying to retrace their steps but the mood around is that nobody is going to slow things down because of them.
The party has reached out to them and if they are not committed, the party cannot force them. It is a democracy and they have a right to stay where they are. That is the consensus.
Speaking on the possibility of the party sanctioning Wike and his allies over anti-party activities, the source said nobody is considering sanctioning them for anti-party activities.
Wike Did Not Stop Atiku From Campaigning In Rivers
On Monday, the party chieftain stated that Governor Wike and his allies have not prevented the PDP and Atiku from campaigning in their state.
According to the source, the dissatisfied Governors only stated that they would not campaign for Atiku, but did not state that they would block Atiku’s campaign.
The source added;
In those states, we have PDP structures there, if the state chairman will not be available, the vice chairman will be available.
We will do our thing and get out of those states but what is more important is that and the thinking in the party is that many of these states are core PDP states; they also have candidates who are running for elections.
So, there is a policy part of it and there is a reality part of it. When we get there, we will cross the bridge.