The Peoples Democratic Party has summoned an emergency meeting to discuss the fallout of its National Executive Committee meeting where its national chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, survived sacking, The PUNCH learnt on Monday.
The meeting which would be held at the office of Chief Olabode George in Lagos would discuss other issues concerning the meeting and how to assuage aggrieved party members, including the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike and his loyalists.
A member of the PDP Board of Trustees, Ebenezer Babatope, disclosed these in an interview with The PUNCH.
He was responding to questions on whether the crisis in PDP was over with the vote of confidence passed on Ayu by NEC, the resignation of the chairman of its Board of Trustees, Walid Jibrin, and his replacement with a former President of the Senate, Adolphus Wabara.
Babatope said, “We have a strong group within the PDP led by Olabode George. We are summoning a meeting and our leader, Olabode George, is going to brief us on what is happening.
“But as far as we are concerned, anywhere the PDP is going is where we are going; and we are going to resolve all these issues so that if you can ask me these questions next week, I will be able to reply you.
“The meeting is going to take place in Lagos in Bode George’s office, we have not fixed the time and date. But we are going to fix the time and date today (Monday), before the end of the day. But I can assure you that we are hands and gloves with the PDP because our membership wants victory.
“We want to go back to power, we have learnt our lessons in a very hard way and we want victory, and by the grace of God, we are going to get victory in 2023.”
Atiku’s spokesperson speaks
Meanwhile, a spokesperson of Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, Daniel Bwala, has described the media attention Wike is getting as a disservice to other PDP governors in the South-South, including the presidential candidate’s running mate, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.
He said, “What I am saying is the emphasis and coverage that he (Wike) gets which other PDP stakeholders in his place don’t get. I feel it is a disservice to them. Why? Because he is in the media for the wrong reason, for the most part, because what media people are doing is that they are reporting his ranting.
“What I am saying is that for the coverage to be balanced, I think they should cover the progress that the governors in the South-South are making, that is the only thing I am thinking. All the noise around him, when the campaign starts, you cannot divide yourself to be with him and be with the campaign train.”
