More Trouble for Atiku as Ex-PDP Presidential Aspirant Backs Wike, Speaks on Rivers Governor's Defection
- Amid the crisis rocking the PDP, Sam Ohuabunwa, a chieftain of the opposition party has taken side with Governor Wike
- Ohuabunwa, a former PDP presidential aspirant, said the Rivers state governor is only seeking justice and equity
- The PDP chieftain also spoke about the possibility of Governor Wike leaving the PDP for the APC or any other party due to the crisis
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
Sam Ohuabunwa, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said that Governor Nyesom Wike is not trying to destabilise the party but only seeking justice and equity.
The PDP chieftain stated this when he appeared as a guest on Channels TV on Tuesday, September 13.
Source: Facebook
The main opposition party has been enmeshed in a crisis after its presidential primary won by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in May.
Wike who was also presidential aspirant lost to Atiku. Aggrieved after the primary election, Governor Wike accused the party of betraying him and breaching its constitution, Premium Times reported.
PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!
He subsequently demanded the resignation of the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, before discussing the possibility of giving support to Atiku in next year’s poll.
According to him, it is wrong for Ayu and the party presidential candidate, Atiku, to come from the same region; northern Nigeria.
Wike is seeking to correct the wrongs - Ohuabunwa
Ohuabunwa, also a former presidential aspirant, said he has been speaking with the Wike and Atiku’s groups in the party.
He stressed that the Rivers governor is seeking to correct the wrongs that were done in the PDP in the past.
“The truth is that Mr Wike is not crying wolves. He is demanding justice. He is demanding equity. And that is right for him to do,” he said.
PDP leadership should show sympathy - Ohuabunwa
Speaking further, Ohuabunwa urged the national leadership of the party to show “empathy” and heed the governor’s demand.
He said:
“Why is everybody going to Mr Wike? It shows that he has a moral right in this matter. There is something that all of us understood has been done wrongly and that’s why all the emissaries are going to him."
Wike won't leave PDP, says Ohuabunwa
The PDP chieftain, however, expressed optimism that the crisis would be resolved as soon as the party leadership shows “empathy and understanding” in the matter.
He dismissed claims that the recent meetings between Governor Wike and officials of opposition political parties could culminate in the governor’s defection to any of the parties, saying the governor remains a “staunch ambassador” of the PDP.
“For me, it (the meetings with opposition parties) is a way of advertising our party and I believe that those APC and other party leaders that are going there (Rivers State) is a way of sanctioning and endorsing the kind of quality leaders and performances that PDP has and Mr Wike is a poster boy in that regard,” Ohuabunwa added.
2023: Wike shuns meeting with Atiku, other presidential aspirants
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Governor Wike was conspicuously absent on Wednesday, September 27, when Atiku met the 2023 presidential aspirants of the party at his Asokoro residence in Abuja.
Aside from Wike, also absent were former Senate Presidents Bukola Saraki and Pius Anyim as well as Governor Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom state.
However, in attendance at the meeting include Dele Momodu, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, Tari Oliver, and Charles Ugwu.
Source: Legit.ng
