Against the backdrop of a war of words that ensued between Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike and embattled PDP National Chairman Senator Iyorchia Ayu, the former convened his governor allies in London for another round of meeting suspected to consolidate their break from the party after an uncompromising Ayu belittled them as “children”.
The meeting, held on Friday, was attended by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, and is reported to be preparatory for another meeting with the Presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who has intensified his outreach to the aggrieved PDP leaders.
Earlier in the week, Ayu dismissed calls for his resignation as demanded by Wike in the reconciliation meeting with Atiku, berating the Rivers governor and his allies as “noise-making children who were not there when we formed the PDP.”
In response, Wike recounted Ayu’s dossier of failure, including lost elections and untimely sack from appointive positions, with the claim that it was the same “children” who revived his stale political career and helped his emergence as the leader of the party.
The war of words indicates that the split in the party continues to widen, to the frustration of Atiku who is reportedly at his wit’s end on ways to resolve the dispute and unite the warring factions.
Meanwhile, Atiku’s loss could be Tinubu’s gain as the former Lagos governor is expected to complete talks with the Wike-led faction over the weekend, with the possible outcome of an alliance, similar to what the APC brokered in 2015 that proved detrimental to the PDP’s chances.