How Atiku betrayed Ekweremadu, others

There’s palpable tension within the top echelon of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southeast ahead of 2019 general elections following accusations that the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar reneged on agreements he had with the leaders before he emerged as the flag bearer.

Central to this growing resentment in the region is the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, whom the leaders argued was betrayed by Atiku when he picked former governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, as his running for the 2019 presidential election.

According to a source, Atiku had allegedly offered Ekweremadu the vice presidential slot a before the primaries, and other incentives to the leaders, hence, majority of the Southeast leaders in PDP had worked for his emergence.

National Daily gathered that before the convention, the leaders, led by Ekweremadu had shunned overtures from Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State to team up with Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

According to the source, the leaders have no grudges against Peter Obi, but they are unhappy about how Atiku reneged on some of the agreements reached with him especially the essence of carrying stakeholders along.

The alleged agreements include consultation with Southeast leaders on how to pick vice presidential candidate; consensus on other positions conceded to the zone; finding a meeting point with the zone on Atiku’s idea of restructuring; need to spend one term in office and cede power to the Southeast in 2023; the offer of the VP slot to Ekweremadu (Right of First Refusal) before any other candidate.

National Daily gathered that the choice of Obi was made without consultation with the leaders, especially, Ekweremadu who is the highest ranking political office holder in the Southeast.

“The assumption is that if Atiku can treat South-East leaders and governors in this manner as a candidate, what if he becomes the President. It is just a matter of trust. When in need, he offered Ekweremadu the position of running mate. Courtesy demands that he should have also confided in Ekweremadu before choosing Obi.”

Meanwhile, investigation revealed that Ekweremadu has to choose between remaining in PDP and defecting to prove a point that he is a force to reckon with.

The third option is to remain in PDP and sabotage Atiku by entering into an alliance with President Muhammadu Buhari on a good deal for the Southeast if he is re-elected.

The source added: “From the look of things, it seems there is a conspiracy within PDP to alienate Ekweremadu.