2023: Wike’s Silence Unsettles PDP

2023: Wike’s Silence Unsettles PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is worried over the silence of Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, after humiliating him out of the race for a running mate to the party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.

It was gathered that Wike’s unusual silence has unsettled the party and kept leaders of the PDP guessing his next line of action.

The PDP was said to be more confused following Wike’s decision to keep his next strategies close to his chest despite receiving high-profile visitors from the PDP.

Unlike the outcome of the presidential primaries when Wike returned and lampooned his colleagues from the South for betraying the region’s quest to produce the next President, the governor had chosen to remain quiet after suffering what many observers referred to as public ridicule in the process that led to the choice of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as Atiku’s running mate.

The Governor and his loyalists in the party were said to be pained that the party threw up a process designed to embarrass its strongest mobiliser.

They were unhappy that Atiku rubbed it in by publicly reeling out Okowa’s supposed qualities that made him a better choice than Wike without considering the feelings and the electoral capacity of the Rivers governor.

It was believed that Atiku had long chosen Okowa but merely dragged Wike into the race to create semblance of competition.

The silence of Wike over his treatment turned Rivers State to a Mecca of sort compelling high-profile visitors to consult with the Rivers Governor.

The presidential candidate of Labour Party(LP) Peter Obi; Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed; the presidential candidate of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, were among persons that had visited the governor.

Others are the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Philip Tanimu Aduda, Minority Whip, Senator Chukwuka Utaxi, Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Shuaibu Lau, Senators Danjuma Laah and Barry Mpigi.

Even a former Niger Delta Minister, Elder Godsday Orubebe, who recently dumped the PDP and a former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, visited Wike.

They all separately met with Wike behind closed doors.

There were unconfirmed reports that the Rivers Governor might hold private meetings with the APC governors, APC Presidential Candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and President Muhammadu Buhari.