Wike will not Abandon- Dele Momodu

Dele Momodu, a forenamed candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, has spoken on the turmoil affecting the PDP and asserted that Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, will not leave the main opposition party.

Since Atiku Abubakar, an ex-vice president, was announced as a candidate for president in the general elections of 2023, a problem has been affecting the main opposition party.

However, Momodu, a PDP chieftain and publisher of Ovation Magazine, said Wike would not abandon the party because he is a principled politician.

“For me, governor Wike is a very principled man; if there’s one thing he has been consistent about, it is his love for PDP; I believe he will not leave PDP. He is playing a mind game, and he’s good at it. What shall it profit him if he joins APC?” he asked on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily Monday.

Momodu claims that the Rivers governor is now a major player in the party due to the changes made in the wake of the presidential primary results.

According to him, the PDP presidential candidate and Wike should meet privately to discuss the party’s current crisis.

Momodu added, “What I would advise Atiku Abubakar to do today is to sit down one-on-one without no other person present with governor Wike and agree on deliverables. If possible, sign an agreement.

“Governor Wike believes that the party should have respected the zoning principle, number two, he believes that zoning would have favoured a southern candidate. Three, he believed that of all the southern aspirants, he was the one that could deliver victory to the party.

“The situation in PDP shows what Wike is in the equation of things in Nigeria. If you have a man who is your best governor across the board, across party lines, Wike stands out as a fantastic performer.

“Today, the fear of Wike is the beginning of wisdom in PDP. There is no question about that. Wike is smart. He knows the game he’s playing, and what he wants to do is to force a deal with the party. That’s my reading of the situation.”

Following the party’s presidential primary, there seems to be growing tension inside the PDP. Many southern governors had pushed for their region to produce President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor the next year. Still, that plan has been derailed by the rise of Atiku from Adamawa, North-East.

Since the crisis, the PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) has had a number of discussions to try to patch things up between Wike and Atiku, but the two have not yet reached an understanding. Instead, the Wike-supporting group demands that Iyorchia Ayu, the party’s national chairman, step down because he is from the North-Central.

The main opposition party is also worried that Wike, who finished second in the PDP presidential primaries, may leave. As the governor has spoken with prominent politicians, particularly those from the ruling All Progressives Congress, the anxieties have been more apparent (APC).