Amid the grumbling by governors of the People’s Democratic Party over the choice of Ifeanyi Okowa as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate, the PDP presidential standard bearer has assured his party men that “appropriate actions” will be taken to address their grievances.
Some of the governors have been quite vocal on their stance, accusing Atiku of ignoring them and the resolutions of the committee set up to nominate his running mate. The protesting governors are those who rooted for Nyesom Wike to emerge as the party’s Vice-Presidential candidate after losing the 2023 presidential ticket to Atiku Abubakar.
Governor of Benue state Samuel Ortom was quoted as saying, “If Atiku was not going to honour the decision of the committee, he should have called Wike earlier and informed him.”
Also, former Governor of Ekiti State and staunch ally of Governor Wike, Ayo Fayose said the party has not treated Wike fairly.
In apparent response to the brewing disaffection, Atiku Abubakar in a post on his Facebook page on Thursday said the party remains united and focused and will look into the issues raised by his fellow party leaders.
“We are taking action to address the feelings of all party members. The unity in our community is my priority. Our resolve to unify Nigeria starts in our party and moves to the community, then on to society.
Every governor, legislator, and other elected officials produced by our party, and party members and loyalists, are much loved and respected by me. When they speak, I listen. I do not only listen. Appropriate actions have been taken, are being taken, and will continue to be advanced.”
The signs of cracks within the party is also said to have affected its preparation for the forthcoming governorship election in Osun state. Wednesday’s inauguration of the campaign council was attended by only two governors, Delta’s Ifeanyi Okowa and Darius Ishaku of Taraba State out of the twelve governors listed in the 128-member campaign council.
