Ogbonna Nwuke, the spokesman for the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council, has advised the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to quickly reconcile with the G-5 governors.
Recall that the five disgruntled PDP governors, known as the G5, have boycotted Atiku’s campaign rallies and are demanding the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
The resignation of Ayu is demanded because the party’s presidential candidate and national chairman cannot be from the same region.
The five governors are Rivers State Nyesom Wike, Oyo’s Seyi Makinde, Enugu’s Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Benue’s Samuel Ortom, and Abia State’s Okezie Ikpeazu.
Nwuke told Vanguard on Thursday that what happened to the PDP in the 2015 presidential election would happen again in 2022 if Atiku does not reconcile with the G-5 governors.
The PDP chieftain went on to say that the opposition party’s leadership appears to be attempting to sabotage Atiku’s campaign ahead of the 2023 general elections.
He said:
The issues are clear. PDP appears to be trying to frustrate Atiku’s campaign. The G-5 has gone beyond opposition to the northern candidate by saying okay, you won the presidential primary and have the right to choose your running mate. Nobody is quarrelling with that, but in the interest of fairness, equity, justice, and balance of power, they are saying it is wrong for the North to hold on to the presidential candidate and chairmanship of the party.
What will the South be voting for when chairmanship is in the North, the presidency is in the North, and spokespersons are largely from the North? This is something that must be addressed going forward. If a man makes a promise and doesn’t keep it, will he keep it after the election has been fought and won?
Ayu has said he was elected for four years and would not give up, running counter to what the Atiku group is even promising that after elections they would address the matter. We ask if we’re talking about delivering Atiku, is it Ayu who will deliver him in Benue or is it Governor Samuel Ortom? Has Ayu what it takes to deliver a presidential candidate?
We leave the posers to the Atiku group because there is this feeling that some people are born to rule. Now it is time to tell them that some people were also born to resist. And we are resisting reasonably within the party. G-5 governors are saying their doors remain open to negotiations, they have never closed the doors.