2027: Atiku trades off Igbo chance for Wike’s support

By OBINNA EZUGWU

Aware of the potentially devastating consequence of losing the support of Nyesom Wike, Rivers State governor and his clique within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) could have on his 2023 power bid, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate, last week Thursday, made another spirited effort to appease him.

Atiku, it was gathered, met Wike in Abuja during which he made mouthwatering offers to the unyielding Rivers governor, including, sources said, promising to back him as his successor in 2027, in the event that he takes power next year.

Although, the campaign organization at the weekend vigorously refuted the claim, informed sources insisted that it was a face saving position. Senator Dino Melaye, spokesperson of the campaign organization, was quoted to have said that it was an orchestrated lie to damage the PDP presidential candidate, as no such promise was made.

The former vice president would turn 76 on November 25, and should he win the presidential election billed for February, would be 80 by the time his first term of four years ends in 2027.

There might be reasonable grounds to believe that at 80, Atiku may opt not to go for a second term, even if the examples of Paul Biya who is still president of Cameroon at 89, and Joe Biden who at 79, is looking likely to still seek a second term as American president in 2024, are reasons to believe otherwise.

But once bitten, Wike, it was learnt, refused to take the bait drawing lessons from the fact that Atiku had made similar promise to the Igbo in Enugu State two days prior, and by Friday, he hosted Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, who is increasingly proving to be a huge threat to both the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is also battling crisis emanating from the constitution of its campaign council, going into 2023.

October 1st, the country’s independence anniversary, used to be a day of colourful displays in Abuja and various state capital. But on Saturday, it was literally Peter Obi Day, as thousands of people marched in the streets of Lagos, Kaduna, Gombe, Delta, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Edo, and various other states, in solidarity with the Labour Party presidential candidate.

“Peter Obi has created Nigeria’s first youth-driven, populist movement. It still needs more substance and depth but it’s already a credible political force,” said Tayo Oyedeji, CEO of Publicis Groupe/Redefine Nigeria

“Obama, Ruto, and MKO rode similar waves to electoral success and I believe this gentleman may have a shot. The good news in all this is that the gentleman seems like a genuinely good person, and I truly wish him well.”

Obi had been crowded out of the PDP in the lead up to the party’s primary election in May. He subsequently joined the Labour Party and became its standard bearer, and ever since, has been on the ascendancy, looking increasingly likely to cause an upset in 2023, on the back of massive support by the youths of the country who insist on a paradigm shift, amid biting economic issues.

Speculations had emerged at the weekend that five sitting governors had agreed to work for the candidature of the former Anambra governor, but it remains in the realm of speculations.

“Drove from Port Harcourt to Eket, Akwa Ibom this morning. Peter Obi billboards everywhere. Saw one Atiku. No Tinubu,” noted filmmaker, Editi Effiòng, @EditiEffiong. “Lots of homes in Akwa Ibom with Peter Obi banners. Free buses donated for the rally today. This movement is actually unbelievable.”

While the former Anambra State governor is defying the odds, his former party is beset by a crisis which emanated from the decision of Atiku to pick Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State governor, as his running mate ahead of Wike, who was the preferred choice of a vast majority of the party’s governors.

Wike, who had been the main opposition of party’s bulwark since it lost power in 2015, has refused to be appeased after being outwitted by Atiku during the presidential primary, in active connivance with Iyorchia Ayu, its national chairman and the likes of Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto State governor and indeed Okowa, who after leading the agitation for power shift to the South, backed the former vice president to emerge candidate, what Wike saw as betrayal.

Ever since, Wike has been at loggerheads with Atiku, with such key stakeholders as governors Samuel Ortom, Benue State; Seyi Makinde, Oyo State; Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia State, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu State, and other elders, insisting that Ayu, who is now also battling with alleged corruption, must resign.

Wike and his allies had on Tuesday, September 20, held a marathon meeting at his residence in Port Harcourt, before finally demanding that Ayu must resign in the early hours of Wednesday.

They argued that northerners could not occupy positions of party chairman and presidential candidate, reminding that Ayu had before the primary promised to resign should a northerner emerge as the presidential candidate of the party.

Same Wednesday, Atiku issued a statement of his own, insisting that Ayu could not be forced to resign from his position. And would on Wednesday, September 28, officially launch his campaign with the unveiling of three books in Abuja, after giving an indication that his campaign was ready to push ahead without the Rivers governor.

However, the campaign flag off served as some sort of reality check. Snubbed by nearly all of the party’s governors, notably those in Wike’s camp, the former vice president, perhaps realising that Wike could mar what is likely his very last shot at highest office in the land, hurried to the Rivers State governor’s lodge, Asokoro District, Abuja, the very next day to meet with Wike.

Sources privy to the meeting said the presidential candidate offered to back Wike for the presidency in 2027, but unimpressed by the promise on account of previous promises not being kept, including, importantly, the promise of having him as running mate, only to eventually settle for Okowa, Wike remained non-committal.

Reports said the former vice-president, who set the ball rolling on the discussion charged Wike to join hands and work together with him to resolve the rift.

“However, we were surprised by how Wike responded. The governor recalled the London meeting and the agreement reached, the pledge that the former vice-president will revert after a fortnight and how the matter was swept under the carpet,” a source said.

Another source who was privy to the meeting said Atiku extended the olive branch to Wike, pleading with the governor to look at the bigger picture of winning the 2023 poll, while promising to be fair “to all PDP members despite the differences of the past few weeks which were caused by the outcome of the party’s presidential primaries.”

But all the appeals failed to materialise, even as another frontier of crisis brewed last week, with Ayu accused of bribing the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) members.

Ayu returns amid turbulence

On Friday, the PDP national chairman, Ayu, returned to Nigeria after a two-week trip to Europe, amid allegations of bribery directly involving him.

“His plane touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 7pm,” Ayu’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Simon Imobo-Tswam, said in a statement on Friday.

The PDP chair had jetted out of the country on September 14 and handed over to Deputy Chairman (North), Iliya Damagun.

While away, the push for his ouster took a new turn as six members of the party’s NWC members, mostly those loyal to Wike, on Thursday, returned about N122.4 million to the party.

In separate letters to Ayu, the NWC members alleged that the monies were paid to their accounts without their knowledge to cover “scandalous financial misappropriation”.

Those that returned the alleged bribe paid to them from the “proceeds of the N10bn sale of nomination forms” include the Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, who refunded N36m to the party’s account; National Vice Chairman South-South, Chief Dan Orbih (N28m); National Woman Leader, Prof. Stella Effah-Attoe (N28m); National Vice Chairman South-East, Dr. Alli Odefa (N28m); National Vice Chairman South-West, Olasoji Adagunobi-Oluwatukesi (N28m) and Deputy National Secretary, Setonji Koshoedo (N28m).

Arapaja has been widely speculated to be the person to succeed Ayu as national chairman, should he step aside. And the Southwest leg of the party, led by Chief Bode George, has since joined the Wike camp in demanding that Ayu steps aside.

Similarly, Orbih, a Wike loyalist, has been at loggerheads with Godwin Obaseki, the Edo State governor over the control of the party’s structure in the state. To this end, some party sources told our correspondent that the allegation was only a ploy to try and get rid of Ayu.

Regardless, the crisis started when questions were raised on how the over N10bn realised by the party from nomination fees paid by aspirants have been spent.

To douse tension, it was gathered that the leadership of the party instructed that each NWC member be paid N28m, apparently to gloss over the huge cash in order not to cause any fresh crisis in the party.

The affected NWC members were also caught unawares that the party’s presidential flag bearer, Atiku allegedly made N1 billion available to the party before the presidential primaries.

In his letter to Ayu, titled: ‘Return of N36m housing allowance paid into my account,’ Arapaja said he refunded the money because the circumstance under which the money was transferred to his account was not clear.

“I observed a malicious story reported in The Nations newspaper of 26th September 2022, where it was alleged that members of the National Working Committee of the party were offered humongous amount of money to silent us over an allegation of financial misappropriation to the tune of N15bn,” the letter said.

“This led me to browse through my various alerts and I discovered a transfer of N36m from the party. I have my reservation about this money transferred into my account and for personal reasons I wish to return it accordingly. Kindly confirm the receipt of UBA electronic transfer of my N36m attached herewith.”

Similarly, Orbih also stated, “My attention has been drawn to a damaging trending story in the Nation newspaper of September 26, 2022, titled: Disquiet in PDP NWC over N10bn nomination fees. Among several allegations, the story alleged that members of the NWC were offered N28m to gloss over scandalous financial misappropriation.

“To my shock and surprise, it has been confirmed to me by my bank that the sum of N28m has been credited to my account by the party. I hereby notify you of my decision to pay back the money to the party’s account.”
The other four NWC members also refunded the money in like sums.

However, the PDP debunked the allegation, saying the monies were their “housing allowance”.

Reacting to the development, Debo Ologunagba, the party’s national publicity secretary, said the NWC members were paid for housing allowance. In a statement on Friday, Ologunagba said the money went through due process before being paid into the accounts of the members of the NWC.

“The attention of the national working committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to misrepresenting reports in a section of the media alluding strange and unfounded motives to the housing allowance duly approved and paid to NWC members and staff of the party,” the statement read.

“The NWC has noted that this misleading report stemmed from an unfounded publication by a particular media outlet, which suggested that the housing allowance, an entitlement duly approved and paid to national officials and staff of the party amounted to bribery.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the PDP states in an unequivocal term that no funds were paid into the account of any member of the NWC as a bribe for any purpose whatsoever for that matter…

“A bribe is defined as “money or any other valuable consideration given or promised with a view to corrupting the behaviour of a person especially in that person’s performance as a public official.