The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) will tomorrow (Wednesday) meet to mediate in the lingering post-convention crisis, setting the stage for a face-to-face parley between two warring gladiators – governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, and presidential candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The major opposition party has been struggling to stay united since it concluded its primary in May to elect the presidential flag-bearer and then side-stepping Wike, favoured by a majority in the party, to announce governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, as running mate to Atiku.
But on Monday, the chairman of the BoT, Walid Jibrin, said Wednesday’s crucial meeting will fast-track the ongoing reconciliation process in the party.
It was gathered that the meeting would consider demands of the aggrieved Wike-led camp. The Wike camp at their meeting on Sunday, in Abuja, was said to have insisted on the removal of the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.
According to sources within the party’s national secretariat, the Wike camp also wants Atiku to sign an undertaking that he would spend only one term in office before they pledge their support for him.
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Also on the list of demands to be considered by the BoT are that all members of the Wike team will be considered for appointment should the party win the presidential election next year.
In a statement by Jibrin, it pointed out that the Wednesday meeting would consider all the issues and come up with appropriate recommendations.
He said:
The BoT is the highest advisory body and conscience of the party. After the BoT meeting, we will meet with Wike and all aggrieved members and all past presidential aspirants. It is my prayer as Chairman of BoT that the PDP will remain strong to win all elections in 2023.
Jibrin said they were concerned that “the election of Atiku Abubakar as our presidential candidate and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as a vice presidential candidate is unnecessarily causing confusion among some PDP members.
I want to advise all BoT members in the Prof Jerry Gana group to attend the BoT meeting on Wednesday to come out with a common stance of the BoT. After the BoT meeting, we will meet with Atiku, Okowa and Wike to finally resolve the matter to make PDP stronger and very united and enable Atiku and Okowa to win the election hands down.
The issue of Ayu’s resignation has been on the front burner because of a reported gentleman agreement, which had requested that Ayu should resign should the presidential candidate of the party emanate from the North, but following the emergence of Atiku, it was learnt that the song changed to allow Ayu stay in office till the conclusion of the general elections.
Also, the organ in charge of the day-to-day running of the PDP, the National Working Committee (NWC), has also scheduled a crucial meeting for Wednesday. The terms of the Wike camp is said to have attracted concerns from NWC members.
It was observed that many of the NWC members had engaged one another in informal consultation ahead of the meeting. According to the party’s constitution, the only bodies empowered to cause the removal of the national chairman are the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Convention.