The May 28th special convention of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which produced Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the party may mark an end of the party.
Many chieftains of the party believe that the emergence of Atiku from North East region of Nigeria is in gross violation of principle of rotation and zoning as enshrined in the constitution of the PDP.
Today, the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom said the former vice president failed to do the right thing when he jettisoned the recommendation of majority of their leaders in the choice of his running mate. Atiku had announced the Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa as the vice presidential candidate of the party.
When he appeared on AriseTV flagship programme earlier today, Ortom said he doesn’t know if he will support Atiku yet as he’s praying for God’s direction and has gone into hibernation.
In his words:
“I am praying. I have gone into hibernation. I am fasting and praying. So in the end, if God directs me that I should support Atiku, why should I not do it? After all, he’s my party member. But I am waiting for him to do more. I expect him to reach out to Wike, who came second in the presidential primary.
“He denied him the popular view of the PDP members. 14 out of 17 said that Wike should be the VP but Atiku in his wisdom chose Okowa as his vice president. I expect more explanation, I expect hint to talk to Wike first. I expect him to reach out to some of us so that together we can work as a party.
“The bottom line is that for me, I have gone into hibernation and at the end, whatever God directs me, I can assure you that I will do it.
Also, JOURNALIST101 reported that the former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has declared that he won’t be supporting the ambition of Atiku Abubakar.
According to him, the next president of Nigeria should come from the Southern part of Nigeria and not the Northern Region.
“The current President of Nigeria is a 2-term Northern Presidency, thus implying that it MUST be a Southern Presidency in 2023 or NOTHING. Awa ‘South’ lo kan’ (we are next). Nigerians should await details soon.
“The PDP Constitution provides for a rotational Presidency. Section 3(c) provides that the Party shall pursue its aims & objectives by “adhering to the policy of the rotation & zoning of Party & Public elective offices in pursuance of the principle of equity,justice and fairness.
“To this end, if Ikimi is seeking relevance with Atiku, he should do same more decently. He should allow the sleeping dog to lie and save the PDP from unnecessary shootouts and fireworks at this time as we approach the general elections,” Fayose wrote via his known twitter account.
