The situation in the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) can simply be summed up briefly as ‘one day, one trouble.’ Despite this, the party’s Presidential Campaign Council has resolved to forge ahead with its campaign for the February2023 presidential election.
The PDP has been swimming in a crisis since the conclusion of its presidential primary last May. When many Nigerians thought the party had been set free from the noisy atmosphere that it found itself, different issues kept coming up and it knew little or no peace since then.
As a result of this, the PDP had been struggling to find its feet and steady itself for the general election, which is coming up next year.
After the primary election came the face-off over the choice of Atiku’s running mate. As that was still raging, the demand for the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu’s resignation cape up and with that unresolved, the “housing allowance” issue also surfaced.
There is no telling what will come next for a party that has vowed to rescue the country from the jaws of insecurity and hardship. The major protagonists in the crisis rocking the party is the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who is leading other PDP Governors like Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.
The group appears to be bent on derailing the party or slowing its progress unless their demand for Ayu’s exit as chairman and his replacement with a southerner is met.
Although they (Wike and his men) have pulled out of the Presidential Campaign Council of the party, observers believe that they are capable of causing more damage from within.
Hopefully such thinking should not be lost on the leadership of the party and watchers of political developments. The fact that they claimed they had pothing against the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, should just be taken with a pinch of salt, analysts opined.