Five disgruntled governors elected on the PDP platform are amenable to reconciliation because Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate, needs time to fix “a significant abnormality” in the party before the February elections.
The PDP’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, is under pressure from governors of several states, including Nyesom Wike of the Rivers, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, who argue that the party cannot have a presidential candidate and its chairman from the same regional bloc.
Even though they (the displeased governors) were able to effectively launch their individual campaign councils, the governors and their supporters have remained steadfast in their belief that if the right thing is done, reconciliation is achievable for the sake of the party.
According to information obtained by this medium, the governors would contemplate cooperating with Atiku if only Ayu would offer an unqualified apology to them for breaking his vow to resign from his position should a northerner win the PDP presidential nomination.
One of the offended governors’ close associates claimed that “the governors are aware of the implications of collaborating with a presidential candidate of another party. Even if they think Atiku might have done more, they don’t hold him mostly responsible.
“Ayu is the issue because he made a commitment then broke it.
If the individual (the national chairman) could be diplomatic in his statements, I believe things would change. To restore peace, all he needs to do is apologize to these governors, the speaker said.
According to reports, when the organization recently stated that it was willing to embrace peace, Atiku urged his supporters to approach them and engage in negotiation in an effort to bring them back to the campaign council.
The former vice president’s media adviser, Mr. Paul Ibe, confirmed this development by telling our reporter that the PDP presidential candidate has already launched a mediation team to try to mediate a settlement between the two sides.
“We released a statement in which His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, applauded the proposal and repeated his commitment to mediation when the disgruntled governors declared they were open to reconciliation,” he added. There are several engagements happening right now, but we don’t want this to be a news story.
“Discussions are underway, and we are certain that this problem will be resolved before the February election, at which point everyone, including the G-5, will join the campaign council.”
An ally of Governor Ortom who does not want his name published has blamed the problem that had persisted for months on what he called Ayu’s hubris.
If the previous Senate President had been modest enough to reach out to the offended party and spoke less, in his opinion, the problem would have already been resolved by this point.
He asserted, “Ayu is the reason the party has continued to discuss efforts at reconciliation up to this point. You should be pleased that I am a member of the G-5, Governor Ortom told the chairman over the phone. He assured him that he would take him to visit his colleagues. However, Ayu’s remarks have made reconciliation challenging. Too haughty is the man.
“Have the governors prepared their sword sheaths?
Yes, I’ll answer. The national chairman should be careful with his words, though. He has to learn to maintain his composure as an elder.
A seven-man committee was appointed by the party’s board of trustees to address the situation a few months ago.
Both the chairman and the Wike-led group rejected their suggestions that Ayu make a commitment to leave after the elections.
Additionally, the governors who maintained that Ayu’s seat must be given to the South did not feel that Senator Walid Jibrin’s departure as the former head of the Board of Trustees would satisfy their demands.
Similarly, former Senate President Bukola Saraki’s efforts at reconciliation failed to soothe inflamed tempers.
All of these compelled Atiku to continue his efforts despite the constant insistence of some of his supporters that only Ayu could determine what to do with the pledge he made while seeking support before to the convention that propelled him to power.
