PDP Crisis : Wike’s refusal to microzone presidency to  S/East forced Atiku to contest – Bwala

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, forced the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, to contest the 2023 presidency ,reveals Daniel Bwala, spokesman of the Atiku Campaign Organisation.

Bwala, who spoke on Friday hours after Wike granted a scathing interview to the press on the crisis rocking the PDP, told Channels Television that the failure of the Rivers State Governor to allow for the micro-zoning of the presidential ticket of the PDP to the South East and eventual throwing open of the ticket, led to the decision of Abubakar to contest.

He said it was also Wike that threw up Senator Iyorcha Ayu as the National Chairman of the party.

Bwala said: “The whole gamut of power zoning here or there started with Governor Wike.

“He virtually had everything he wanted.

“He brought this chairman (Ayu).

“When a discussion was being done in the party that power should be zoned, I recall very well, Atiku was inclined that it should be zoned to either South East or North East – these are the two geopolitical zones that have not benefited.

“Then, he (Wike) said if it was ever zoned to the South East, he was not going to run.

“The movement then was that it should be micro-zoned to the South East – among stakeholders from the region.

“He (Wike) frustrated it because he was interested.”

Bwala said the failure to zone the ticket to the South East led to the exit of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, from the PDP.

He said if the presidential ticket was micro-zoned to the South East, either Obi or a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, would have emerged the candidate of the party.

He added: “He (Wike) influenced the emergence of leaders that sat in committees – whether committees for party positions or elective office.

“At his behest, a recommendation was made that it should be thrown open, evidently because he is not from the South East.

“That led to the departure of Peter Obi.

“If the zoning thing was followed, Peter Obi or probably the former SGF (Anyim Pius Anyim) would have emerged as the presidential candidate of the party.”