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Tag: #Atiku Abubakar

  • Atiku, Ayu Unsettled As Wike’s Camps Push For PDP NEC Meeting

    Atiku, Ayu Unsettled As Wike’s Camps Push For PDP NEC Meeting

    The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has received a fresh turn as political camp loyal to Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has been making push for a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party.

    VANGUARD reports that some allies of Wike within the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and some state chapter chairmen of the PDP in the South may have been facilitating the push for the NEC meeting as part of moves to send the embattled National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu packing from office.

    Recall that Ayu has been insistent that nobody can remove him as the chairman of the party.

    Addressing a crowd of supporters in Gboko, his hometown in Benue during the weekend, Ayu had said he is capable of stopping any candidate of the party, who is vying on the platform of the PDP from achieving their ambitions if he decides to reciprocate the attacks on him from some quarters.

    Ayu and Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state have been crossed over the latter’s alignment with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State in the call for the resignation of the PDP chairman.

    The calls for Ayu’s resignation has been heightened by some prominent chieftains of the party, some allies of Wike and other dissatisfied members of the PDP are hatching a fresh plot to unseat him.

    The PDP NEC meeting, it was gathered, that some governorship candidates of the PDP will publicly demand the resignation of the National Chairman of the party and support the plan for a NEC meeting.

    A governorship candidate from the southeast is quoted to have said, “Most of the candidates of the party, especially in the south, are worried about the current developments in the party.

    “Like Wike and his people have argued several times, it is unclear how our presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku and Ayu, the National Chairman, want us to sell the PDP to our people in the south.

    What are we to tell them is in the party for us? How do we tell them to vote for a party that is carrying on as if the south does not matter? These are the challenges we face currently.

    “And as candidates who are desirous of winning elections, we can no longer afford to keep quiet on this matter. We have met the gladiators and appealed to them to put the general interest of the party over and above all other interests.

    “But is appears no one is interested in our plight. We have resolved to take our fate in our hands by speaking out.”

    The governorship hopeful further informed that the call for the resignation of the National Chairman is not abating, urging Ayu to consider the interest of the party and sheathe his sword.

    He said, “There is no reason why he can’t resign in the interest of the party. He is a father to all of us and our political future should be more important to him than anything else.

    “This is our position and that is why we are ready to support the move for a NEC meeting in search of a resolution of this matter ahead of the 2023 election.

    “We are in support of the call for a NEC meeting. We must sit down as a party and discuss this matter again. We cannot continue to pretend that it is not hurting our aspirations in our various states.”

    Meanwhile, Vanguard gathered that some members of the NWC, who are dissatisfied with Ayu, have mooted the idea of getting the party to summon a NEC meeting as soon as possible.

    According to sources, “As at the close of work on Friday, we have more than half of the NWC membership on our side. The plan to have a NEC meeting that will revisit the crisis in the party is waxing stronger.

    “Soon, it will be difficult for anybody to continue to ignore the dissatisfaction of members of the committee with our National Chairman.

    “Many state chapter chairmen are also in support of the decision that we discuss this matter as a family and take a decision while putting the interest of the party over and above all personal and group considerations,” he said.

    Another source, said “if he got a vote of confidence and the crisis within the party went from bad to worse, then it is important that we re-examine the issues.

    “It is the same people who gave the vote of confidence we are calling on to come and see how far that decision has taken us as a party ahead of the 2023 general elections.”

  • Understanding Nyesom Wike, Atiku Does Not Know BY DOMINIC KIDZU

    Understanding Nyesom Wike, Atiku Does Not Know BY DOMINIC KIDZU

     

    Brash, incontinent and laudatory, with a generous semblance of a stormy petrel, that is how Governor Nyesom Wike possibly comes across to those of us who have never met him in the unique manner that only he can conjure. Were he to feature in the dramatic art, he could quite possibly have been a tragicomedic character, presenting the grim reality of human tragedy in scenes of mirthful ribaldry and self deprecating guffaws.

    The twist however, is that Nyesom Wike is neither a comedian nor is he an actor. He is surprisingly, a very serious and meticulous man with a genial sense of humour. He is also a man of duty, of friendship, a man of principle, with the memory of a dolphin, which recalls every good deed and unfortunately also, every slight and debt. It would appear that Atiku Abubakar and Iyorcha Ayu did not know Wike well enough before they undertook to tango with him. And the duo are not fortunate to be friends of Rotimi Amaechi who may have lend them a wee bit of his own experiences with the enigma called Nyesom Wike.

    If Wike’s trenchant posturings on television in the last few months have exposed the rotten underbelly of the PDP, it has also exposed the hubris in Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate. It has shown him up as proud and arrogant and as a man who still worships in the shrine of nepotism and corruption, ala Cousin Muhammadu Buhari.

    Atiku reminds one of the folk story where all the animals gathered together to choose a king for themselves and it was suggested that the duck fowl would best occupy the position because it could walk, fly and swim. But alas, before the crowning ceremony, the duck began to walk and prance about with the cockiness and arrogance of a king. It was the tortoise that first noticed this with alarm and drew the other animals attention to the kingly gait. In the end the animals out of fear that the worst might happen should the duck become king withdrew their support for its candidacy leaving the duck only with the majestic walk without a crown.

    And Atiku may yet end up without a crown because of hubris which now clearly appears to be his tragic flaw. William Shakespeare wrote that “the abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.” The hawks are all over Atiku today buoying him up with false assurances and telling him what a great man he is. Atiku might well be a great man, but he must listen to himself first, he must stoop to conquer. The North will vote for him alright, they will vote for their brother. Even president Buhari may well vote for Atiku. But he needs other sections of the country as well to fulfil the constitutional requirement precedent to his being declared President.

    In the wake of the Peter Obi phenomenon it is rather surprising that Atiku is not doing realpolitik. He is still typically condescending to his colleagues from the South, as if to say “mai za su yi”? (what can they do?) Alhaji Atiku, they can do a whole lot. Already, the word on the street is that a man who cannot unify his party cannot possibly unify the country, and the evidence is all laid out for all to see.

    Nyesom Wike threw the clanger yesterday, that Atiku gave and Ayu took, all very typical of the tragic story of PDP. Nyesom Wike may well sink the ship of PDP, which is already approaching the iceberg, if Alhaji Atiku does not find the wisdom to climb down from his high horse, and pull the chestnut out of the fire before it is burnt. Underestimating Governor Nyesom Wike is a strategic mistake at this time. Na small shit de spoil nyash.

    Dominic Kidzu writes from Calabar.

     

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Dominic Kidzu and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

  • Wike Dissociates From Suit Challenging Atiku’s Candidacy

    Wike Dissociates From Suit Challenging Atiku’s Candidacy

    Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyesom Wike few moments ago (Friday) distanced himself from a purported suit said to have been filed by him seeking the removal of Atiku Abubakar as presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in next year’s general election.

    This comes few hours after some media outfits had reported that Wike had ordered the removal of PDP flags in Rivers State government house, which also turned out to be false.

    In an exclusive chat with THISDAY, the Governor denied knowing anything whatsoever about the purported suit or even knowing the lawyers who filed the suit in the first instance. “I don’t know anything about the so called suit. I did not ask anyone to file any suit for me”

    The media was on Friday morning awash with reports that Governor Wike and one Chieftain of the PDP, Mr Newgent Ekamon, had dragged the PDP to court seeking the removal of Atiku as Candidate of the PDP in next year’s presidential polls.

    According to the purported suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/782/2022, the plaintiffs were said to have hinged their claims on the grounds that the PDP primary conferred undue advantage on Atiku which aided his emergence as candidate of the PDP in the May 28 and 29 primary.

    Reacting to the publication, Wike flatly denied the suit said to have been filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja. He described the suit as the handiwork of mischief makers who merely want to use him to score cheap political goals.

    He stated emphatically, “I don’t know the lawyers”. Continuing, he said, “am I a kid to be filing a suit at this time. I had 14 days after the primary within which to have filed any suit. I didn’t do that then, is it two months after primary I will file a suit?

    He also recalled that, “just yesterday they came up with the claim that I ordered my Chief Security Officer to pull down PDP flag in Government House. This is all false, it’s all propaganda. Some people are trying to use me to win the election. Please disregard all these lies”.

    ThisDay