…As moves rattle Wike’s camp
BY VICTOR BUORO, ABUJA – The support of Governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to have Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, former governor of Kano state, elected as National Chairman of the Party at its scheduled November national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State has received a boost with the endorsement of former President Goodluck Jonthan and Mr Peter Obi.
Former President Jonathan, it was gathered particularly expressed relief Mallam Shekarau was being approached to preside over the affairs of the PDP which had suffered considerably in the hands of those he described as ‘betrayals”.
The development has sent jitters into the political spine of the Nyesom Wike’s camp that are pushing for the candidacy of former governor of Benue State, Mr Samuel Ortom, who many within the party are perceiving as a black leg within the PDP that is desirous of handing over the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
This is also coming on the heals of the move by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register more political parties amongst which is thew All Democratic Alliance (ADA) as political parties, thereby raising more prospect for the opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
Shekarau and Umar Ardo, who are known promoters of the League of Northern Democrats, had consistently argued for the registration of ADA as a political party to avoid leadership tussles and legitimacy crises.
Shekarau had also insisted that while he supports political collaboration to improve governance, he however remains a member of the PDP.
It was gathered that the camp of Wike, who is seen as more as a member of the APC but wearing the PDP vest, are also strategizing to counter the possible backlash the registration of ADA will have on the ruling APC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
However, the PDP Governors’ Forum has insisted that it can no longer fold its hands and allow a few people destroy the party, thus adopted Shekarau as consensus candidate for the national chairman of the party.
Forefront News gathered that at a recent meeting in Abuja, former president Goodluck Jonathan and Peter Obi, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, agreed to throw weight behind Shekarau as against Ortom, a member of the G-5 who they perceived rightly or wrongly, as a canon fodder being used by Wike to further weaken the PDP like they did in 2023.
This was as it gathered that both Jonathan and Obi commended the efforts of Governor Bala Mohammed’s efforts to rebuild the PDP and recover it from “betrayals” that deliberately pulled the party down in recent years.
A source close to both former President Jonathan and Mr Peter Obi told Forefront News that the former president expressed serious concerns over betrayals and wondered why some politicians derive pleasure in creating false narratives just to feather their political caps.
