The raging battle between Rivers Gov. Nyesom Wike and the PDP, including its presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar may end up with Wike losing some loyalty owing to his hardness of neck.
On the one hand, Atiku, according to reports, is already working to break the Rivers governor’s rank; and on the other hand, some of Wike’s yesmen are flagging as the battle drags on.
Enugu Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Wike’s pointman leading up to the presidential primary, has already showed displeasure at the governor’s bitterness for his presidential ticket loss. He’s particularly pissed with Wike’s dalliance with the APC and the Labour Party.
And Ugwuanyi is probably not hiding his disgust. Somehow, he has given himself away. The Wike gang, too, have already identified him as the ‘weakest link’, according to a source the Nation quoted.
Abia Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu, in a phone call from their latest meeting in London, also stated he’s not leaving the PDP. According to the newspaper, all he wants is to know and be sure of what an Atiku presidency means for the southeast.
As war fatigue creeps in on the Wike camp, Atiku is seiing the opportunity it present. He’s now reaching out to the men of yesteryears—former Govs. Donald Duke, Segun Mimiko, Ibrahim Dakwanbo, and a washed up former justice minister, Mohammed Adoke—hobnobbing with the bitter loser.
This cloak-and-dagger diplomacy Atiku plays mostly makes Wike tears up his own scalp. To pile up the agony for the governor, Atiku and other party execs have never brought up the Wike lone war for discussion. Even in the next high-level meeting coming up on Thursday, party chairman Iyorchia Ayu has yanked the Wike war off the agenda.
Analysts believe in a worst-case scenario, Rivers, with its 1.5 million votes Wike is flashing to make himself the most valuable politician currently, may be diced up for all the contending parties.
The Obidient Movement, mostly the Igbo stock of the south-south state, have showed some force. So the LP candidate Peter Obi will have some. In fact, workers in the state don’t like Wike. Their protest means a great deal for Obi in 2023.
As Atiku worms his way into the hearts of the remaining state party leaders loyal to Wike because of what they stand to gain, chances are high the PDP won’t lose the way the governor has threatened.
And the influence of Govs. Samuel Ortom and Seyi Makinde to make Atiku lose Benue and Oyo is in doubt.