Wike, Ortom Jet Out To London, As PDP Resolves To Move On
Two out of the main actors in the festering internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Samuel Ortom of Benue, on Friday night left the country for London to further consolidate on their next line of action.
This was as it gathered that the main opposition party may have resolved to move on as against trying to please a group of persons that hold the strong view that they are bigger than the party.
A close source to the PDP NWC told Forefront News that while the leadership of the Party recognised the worth of the Governor Wike’s team, there is however a limit to tolerating their actions and lack of readiness for peace as if they own the party.
It was gathered Wike and Ortom jetted out in a chartered flight from the Port Harcourt International Airport at about midnight of Friday for further political consultations and possible meeting with some presidential candidates.
This is coming less than 24 hours after Wike granted some selected television stations sponsored interview in which he accused the National chairman of the PDP of collecting one billion Naira bribe from a presidential candidate in Lagos and also accused the presidential candidate of the Party, Atiku Abubakar of not willing to let Dr. Iyorchia Ayu to resign as National Chairman.
Wike also said that during the televised media chat in Port Harcourt that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu offered him senatorial ticket but for which his media aide, Kelvin Ebiri, later said it was not correct to say that his principal was offered a senatorial ticket when they met in London in August.
Ebiri, in a statement on Saturday, said not only were the reports misleading and untrue but however said that Wike was asked to go pick the ticket for the Senate which he declined, adding however that the governor did not mentioned Tinubu nor anyone else.
He further said; “We wish to state emphatically that this news is false, baseless and ludicrous as the Rivers State governor throughout the media chat never mentioned the name of the APC presidential candidate or alluded to him offering him a senatorial ticket”.
Meanwhile, the National leadership of the PDP and the Presidential Campaign Council may have resolved to move ahead with or without the Wike team as it has become obvious that it would be difficult to meet their demands owing to the dislocation it may cause the party ahead of the election.
A member of the National Working Committee of the PDP said that it is clear that Governor Wike wants to ensure that owing to the fact that he lost out at the party primary and was also not picked as the vice presidential candidate, everything should be brought down using the resignation of Ayu as a cover and smokescreen.
According to the source; “How do you have a member of the party believe that he and his team are bigger than the party? It is not proper. They refused to attend the National Executive Committee (NEC) which is the highest decision making organ of the party but want the resolution of the same NEC set aside for them.
“They first told our presidential candidate that he should meet hem in France and on getting there, they told him, it is now London, he still went and met with them. They discussed and agreed to meet in two weeks. What followed was insults by Wike and talks about things that never took place. Did he create room and the needed atmosphere for further talks? The answer is an obvious no! Must Wike tell so much lies just to make a point? It is really appalling.
“The same Wike that is accusing people of being arrogant is known to be the most arrogant person. How else, can one explain why he chooses commissioning of projects as venue of ferocious attacks on the party? He would not be governor for life. Even the APC he is romancing with cannot tolerate him and he knows it,” he said.
