By Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja and Dare Odufowokan
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Denies PDP panel voted in favour of Rivers governor
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Deadlock in reconciliation talks with Wike’s camp
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Ex-VP says Obi, Labour Party lack structures
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, declared yesterday that his choice of Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate in next year’s election was informed by the realization that the two of them could work together “amicably”.
“I picked who can deliver,” Atiku said on Arise Television even as he and the party are still struggling to placate Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike almost two months after the latter was overlooked as vice presidential candidate.
The former vice president, who also spoke on a wide range of issues, denied reports that he jettisoned the report of a PDP committee recommending Wike for the job.
He dismissed the chances of Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 race, saying Obi and his party would require a miracle to emerge victorious.
Explaining how and why he went for Okowa and not Wike, he said: “I held wide consultations with various stakeholders in our party including our governors, the National Working Committee, Board of Trustees and other leaders to seek their input and their wisdom.
“In these consultations, I made it clear that my running mate would have the potential to succeed me at a moment’s notice, that is, a President-in-waiting.
“In other words, the person must have the qualities to be President. The person must have an appreciation of the deep rot which our country has been put into by the rudderless All Progressives Congress government; understands the great suffering that most of our people are going through and the urgency of relieving them of that suffering; understands the critical importance of economic growth and development to provide our young people with jobs, hope, and a pathway to wealth.”
He said his decision did not amount to rejecting Wike.
“Governor Wike was not rejected. Nobody was rejected in the party. But you must understand that it’s the prerogative of the candidate to pick his running mate — a running mate he believes he can work with amicably, and then also deliver the policies of the party, and also try to unify the country,” Atiku said.
He added: “Governor Wike is a brilliant politician. He’s courageous, tenacious. I believe he has a future in the political evolution of this country.
“It’s not a question of rejection. Certainly not. I think it’s too harsh a word to say that we rejected governor Wike. Certainly not.”
He said efforts were on to reconcile with Wike and his camp.
On claims that he jettisoned the report of a PDP committee recommending Wike as his best option as running mate, Atiku said there was nothing of the sort.
“From the report sent to me, the committee said, ‘we forward to you three names and that there was no mention of voting at the selection committee”, Atiku said.
He challenged the Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, who was one of those who made the allegation, to contradict him.
He said: “The committee that was set up at my own instance deliberated. There was no vote, and they recommended three names, because they knew it was my prerogative to pick any one of the three. So, there was actually no vote. It’s not true.
“He (Governor Ortom) himself chaired that committee. He knew there was no vote taken, and I have the report of that committee.
“The committee recommended three people and I picked one. I did not go out of that recommendation. So, I think people should be fair to me and should also state the fact.”
Asked to rate the chances of Obi who was his running mate in the 2019 presidential election, Atiku said the LP candidate stood little or no chance.
His words: “I really don’t expect the Labour Party to take as many votes from the PDP as people are suggesting.
“We could have seen it in the last election in Osun State. What is the performance of the Labour Party?
“This is a party that doesn’t have a governor, doesn’t have members of the National Assembly, doesn’t have State Assembly members.
“Politics in this country depends on the structures you have at the various levels — at the local government level, at the state level, and at the national level.”
Atiku also downplayed Obi’s influence in the social media, saying that 90 per cent of the people in the North are not on social media.
That, he insinuated, would limit the chances of the LP in the 2023 presidential election.
“So, it is very difficult to expect a miracle to happen simply because Peter Obi is in the Labour Party. After all, they were saying on social media that they had more than one million votes in Osun State. But how many votes were returned for the Labour Party?
“And then again, mark you, you are talking about social media. In the north, 90 per cent of our people are not tuned to social media.”
On the controversy that trailed PDP’s decision to pick its presidential candidate from the North when the ticket should have gone to the south, Atiku said power is negotiated and not transferred.
He faulted the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for opting for a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the presidential race.
“I don’t think it is right for a multi ethnic and religious society like Nigeria,” Atiku said. But he stressed that politics aside, he remains friends with the APC flag bearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Obi supporters hit out at Atiku on social media
Moments after the Arise Television interview, supporters of Peter Obi took to social media to lash out at Atiku for belittling their candidate.
Reactions on Facebook alone were over 10,000 as at 6.25pm yesterday.
Some of the comments:
Aniebo Nwamu – By “structure” he means money to be shared and thugs to be hired and votes to be inflated. We shall see in February!
Apoeso Babatope Oyebola – Atiku, you go see watin God go do. What God cannot do doesn’t exist. Besides, Atiku is not God and I have all the right to vote for my candidate which is Obidient.
Oke Umurhohwo – Atiku is saying the truth and Osun gubernatorial elections proved our point. Some people find facts to be inconvenient. You can’t win in Nigeria without structures.
Stanley Philips – I keep asking this question, what is structure? A party has a structure but still buys vote. A party has structure but still depends on the masses for their election. A party has structure they still pay to rig elections. 2023 will break protocols and the mindset of “structure” will forever be buried.
Amb Aliu Olalekan Abayomi – Tell them the truth if they care to know. Even Peter Obi himself knew this hard truth, but the social media frenzy with the abuse and attack being peddled by his supporters against anyone with dissenting voice is what he’s depending on. Anyway, anything is possible in the realm of imagination. Time will tell.
Misbau Alamu Lateef – Of course, only the unruly and hysterical DisObidient crowd doesn’t know this truth or pretend not to know. In Osun election with a formidable candidate but without structures, LP scored less than 3000 votes in the entire 30 LGs in the state. In the North as I type, LP has zero structure and zero governor and lawmaker. Yet, the unruly and patently abusive crowd of Obi think only their regional and online hysterical noises will make him the President. Of course, the truly perceptive humans know that Obi will only come a far distant third after Atiku as second and Tinubu-Shettima as the winner.
Lybra Baba – Even PDP cannot perform miracle with you sir Atiku.
Ifeanyi Martins Nwokeocha – E go shock you, sir. Thank you.
Adeyemo Moses – Despite the fact that I clearly know that Peter Obi cannot win, I will still vote for him.
Peace talks with Wike deadlocked
Despite claims by Atiku yesterday that he was “reaching out“ to Wike for reconciliation, party sources told The Nation that nothing concrete had been achieved so far.
“We are reaching out to Governor Wike and we are talking with him, and I believe very soon we will find reconciliation. In fact, very soon, because we are talking to him,” the former vice president had said.
“We are talking to his governor colleagues. I am very optimistic we are going to resolve our internal crisis and move on.”
However, PDP sources told The Nation that concerns are mounting among PDP stakeholders as efforts by the party leadership and other stakeholders have failed to yield the desired results.
A meeting of party leaders and elders in Abuja during the week reportedly reviewed the peace efforts and concluded that not much had been achieved.
Board of Trustees (BoT) members, National Working Committee (NWC) members and others at the meeting expressed disappointment over the situation.
Investigations by our correspondent showed that the knotty issues were the disagreements among PDP governors and how the party should proceed with its campaign for the 2023 presidential election, among others.
A source said: “Those who are adamantly opposed to Okowa’s nomination insisted that Wike and his men are needed to be fully involved in PDP’s presidential quest if the party is serious about defeating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and other contending political parties during the 2023 elections.”
Responding to a question, a source, who is a member of the NWC, said: “We are aware of the expectations of our teeming supporters as regards the urgent resolution of all issues surrounding our presidential candidates and Governor Wike.
“There is no need pretending about these. We also want the people concerned to meet, sit down and resolve whatever the issues are. But that is yet to happen as we speak and I cannot say categorically when it will happen.”
Another source however put the delay in the meeting between Atiku and Wike down to the just concluded Osun election. He explained that party leaders have been involved and concerned about delivering victory for the PDP in Osun in the past weeks.
Reminded that Atiku has been in the country for over a week now, he said: “Atiku went straight to Osun when he came and he expected all PDP leaders to be in Osun. But some of these people were not there.”
Sources also said Atiku might have hoped to meet some of the aggrieved PDP chieftains in Osun last weekend and have an opportunity to engage them in discussions.
Sources claimed he was assured Wike and his allies would be in Osogbo for the final rally of the party.
“PDP leaders had begged Wike and others to be present in Osun as part of a peace deal being brokered back then. But the angry PDP chieftains were not in Osogbo as expected.
“This probably distorted the plans that would have seen some of the lingering issues being addressed,” he said.
Atiku and Okowa were in Osogbo for the rally. Some reliable sources within the Wike camp however said the Rivers governor never agreed to be in Osogbo.
“It is true pressure was mounted on him to be in Osun, but it is wrong for anyone to say he gave his words and reneged.
“His absence also had nothing to do with the issues being alleged as he remains a committed PDP leader who will do anything within his power to ensure victory for the party anywhere in the country.
“And no talk was scheduled between Governor Wike and any person or group in Osogbo. If there was any such plan, he was not informed. So, he could not have reneged on something he was not privy to,” our source, an aide of the governor, claimed on condition of anonymity.
It was also gathered that the Wike camp is still refusing to meet emissaries of the party’s presidential candidate.
One of the sources said: “Senator Ayu is not resting on his oars as far as this matter is concerned. The BoT too has been up and doing to ensure an end to this serious logjam.
“Several efforts have been made to initiate discussions but the major brick wall has been the insistence of the aggrieved people not to meet with representatives of the presidential candidate anymore.
“Sadly, every team raised by the party has been regarded as emissaries and this has made discussion very difficult.
“But we are optimistic that following the last meeting of our leaders to discuss the issues, the two parties to the crisis will be told in clear terms to put the interest of the party over and above all other considerations.
“I see a resolution of the issues in a matter of days with the decisions taken by our elders on the matter.”