Obi, Atiku fall over Wike

Obi, Atiku fall over Wike
… still no indication of what he would do next

Governor Nyesom Wike, obviously the most sought after politician in the country as open campaigns begin has met with two presidential flagbearers in the last 48 hours.

Wike who was in Abuja on Thursday to attend a function met with the standard bearer of the Labour Party, Peter Obi at his private residence in Port Harcourt on Friday.

Although details of the meeting were not disclosed, Obi had a chat with Governor Wike behind closed doors in continuation of his ongoing consultations with Nigerians, including leaders of opposing political parties.

It would be the second time he will visit Wike in Port Harcourt apparently to woo him in the midst of a brewing crisis in the PDP to support his aspiration to govern the country.

Wike took to his official Twitter handle to say “It was nice hosting my brother @PeterObi once again.”

While in Abuja, Wike had a meeting on Thursday with the PDP’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

The meeting took place at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro.

There is no indication that the deadlock which has separated the two men has been broken.

Both men are yet to agree on the knotty issue of Ayu’s resignation, according to information filtering in.

Wike and his team have been insisting that Senator Iyorchia Ayu, Chairman of the party, would have to leave office in order to pave way for their participation in Atiku’s Campaign effort.

We have learnt that Wike agreed to table Atiku’s request for understanding before his friends.

This may suggest, if all things are equal, that another meeting between the two titans might hold.

It is still difficult to understand why Atiku and his associates are holding unto Ayu even when it is clear that public opinion does not appear to favour such a stance at this time.

Ayu is currently enmeshed in a charge of corruption.  Wike alleges that he picked up one billion naira from an undisclosed presidential aspirant.

Now, some members of the NWC who found funds channeled to their accounts have returned over N122 million.

Those funds were allegedly paid as part of a bribe to support Ayu who has his back to the wall.

However, the transmission of the money has justified Wike’s allegation that Ayu might indeed be corrupt.

“Ayu is very very corrupt “, Wike had intoned when he addressed the press last week.

With events playing out, Ayu may have a lot of explaining to do.

In the meantime, the leadership of the party loyal to the presidential candidate of the PDP has embarked on damage control efforts to salvage the image of the embattled national chairman.

Wednesday, September 18th, campaigns kicked off across the country, with the PDP flagging off its bid for power in Abuja.

It would appear that with the bribery charges that are making the rounds, the PDP might be in for trouble if the problem in its fold continues unresolved.

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Apparently determined to woo members of the Wike camp, Obi who seemingly enjoys the backing of former President Olusegun Obasanjo visited Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.

Public opinion polls which are being disputed have put Obi in the lead, with his opponents challenging the sample size and other indexes relied upon by pollsters in reaching their conclusions.

On the streets, the “Obi-dients” march, determined to take their choice of a candidate in the forthcoming presidential race to the Nigerian people.

While Labour tries to seize the momentum, PDP members who want a return of the party to Aso Rock pray their leaders would reunite the party by making peace with Wike and his followers.

“Wike has them by the balls”, an observer noted, ” Besides, the man appears to be telling the truth. This is a major problem for the PDP going forward.”

It may well be so.