…Says Okowa repaid with VP ticket for secretly funding Atiku’s Primary.
By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The last is yet to be heard on the crises bedeviling The People Democratic Party (PDP) as the Southern caucus has increased its demand for the immediate resignation of it’s National Chairman, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu.
The zone alleged that the inordinate ambition of the PDP Presidential flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar is responsible for the unabated crises and immediate implosion that might erupt in the party.
A PDP Chieftain, Dr. Katch Ononuju in a chat with The AUTHORITY on Sunday further disclosed that the choice of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta State over Nyesom Wike of Rivers states a the Vice Presidential Candidate was because Okowa betrayed the South by secretly funding the Presidential primary of Atiku Abubakar when the region had already agreed to produce the successor of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ononuju who is an ally of governor Wike said that the inordinate ambition of Atiku was responsible for the jettisoning of zoning and rotation which was enshrined in PDP constitution so as to accommodate the Presidential ambition of the former Vice President. He explained that the twist led to the exit of Peter Obi and Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso from PDP.
According to him, it will be very wrong for the North to continue to hold the position of the National Chairman and that of the Presidential candidate warming that the South are already disenchanted with the continues stay of Ayu in the office and may have no choice than to work against the interest of the party in 2023.
Dr. Ononuju blamed the former Vice President for the poor handling of crises and agitations that emanated after the emergence of Okowa as his running mate and for not insisting that the agreement reached between the North and the South on the continued stay of Ayu as the party’s national chairman should be enforced immediately.
“My parties problems” he said “started with the inordinate ambition of members and that is why we suffered that implosion which caused Obi and Kwakwaso to leave. It is the same impunity and inordinate ambition that also forced the mishandling of the choice of the Vice Presidential candidate.
“Normally in a party when a side wins the Presidency, the people on the other side will bring the Vice Presidential candidate. It is normally done to heal the rift that may occur during that competition. We have not handled it well, Atiku has not handled it well. I don’t know if it is as a consequence of his staying away in Dubai that made him not realize the demands at home or should I also blame it on the impunity he also exhibited in his inordinate ambition which started all these crises and imploded the party in the first place”.
Dr. Ononuju acknowledged that the party is in crises and likened the imbalance to the Muslim-Muslim ticket which the ruling All Progressives Congress is attempting to force down on Nigerians especially the Christians.
He said, “I agree that we are in trouble, we are at a historical moment that we have never been before. We now have the demand for equity. Christians demand that after eight years of Buhari as the President being a Muslim, a Christian should be. Atiku’s ambition undermined that because he caused other people to conspire to cheat the Southeast of it’s own turn in regards to our zoning which is constitutionally in our party and I think that is where the crises started. It started with a no respect for the zoning and that is how everything went bad.
“Atiku and caucus where he is, has been told to give up the position of the chairmanship which Ayu pledged he will give up if a Northerner emerges. That they are finding it very difficult to keep and the difficulty in keeping to that is also part of the problems
“The caucus of the party led by Wike has asked the chairman to resign so that a southerner in line with the agreement will now become the chairman. They are refusing to do that and I think that that is where the problem is.
The PDP Chieftain said that the chances of the party winning the next general election is very bleak if the party does not balance power as soon as possible in accordance with the resolution of the party caucuses.
“The South needs to be carried along as a partner going into the election. It will be wrong to have the North produce the candidate and the North as the chairman. Let the balance be respected now as we go into election. It is when you respect that balance, the need to carry people along, in the face of exhibited impunity that people will have a sense of belonging. It is when they feel that sense of belong that they will contribute and work together as members of that same team.
“Let the chairman resign, let the quest and demand of the southern caucus be respected. The North cannot keep party chairman and party presidential candidate and think that southerners will be comfortable. Whatever advantage comes with the North having a party chairman should be given to the south so that the North will have the advantage of having the ticket and the south will have the advantage of having the chairman.
“You cannot ask me to be part of a game when I do not feel satisfied that I am truly a member of that union. It is when I feel that I am carried along that I will say that I a part of it”.
He explained that it will be very unfair to say that governor Wike is boxing the party or making too much demand from PDP. According to him, the demand on balancing of power was not made by Wike but rather by the caucus which he leads.
“The Rivers state governor is not demanding too much. The Rivers state governor is speaking for the caucus which he represents. In that caucus is a lot of Southerner. The southerners are not demanding too much”.
He also disclosed that despite the fact that there was an agreement among Southern governors to work for the emergence of a southerner as the Presidential candidate of the party, Delta state governor betrayed the agreement and secretly funded Atiku’s Presidential campaign. He also lamented that even when Ohaneze and other Igbo leaders warned that no Igbo person should accept the position of a running mate, Okowa went ahead to accept one from PDP.
He said that the choice of Okowa by Atiku despite the deafening clamour for Wike was to pay him for emptying the treasuries on Delta state on Atiku’s campaign.
“The south never wanted a vice Presidency. Okowa went behind and was funding Atiku campaign and in reaction to that funding he was chosen. In fact Atiku is Atiku and Okowa is Atiku. So why still add the chairmanship to it, let the South have something. Okowa funded Atiku and that was why Okowa got chosen for the Vice Presidency.
“What the South is saying is that now that you have unveiled all the arsenal that you will use to win the Presidency, give us the chairmanship. I don’t think that should be too much for anybody to understand. It has nothing to do with Wike. It is the caucus of the party that Wike belongs to that is demanding for that. That was why when they say Wike we want to talk to you, he will respond talk to my team, talk to members of my caucus. So the caucus of the party led by Wike is insisting that the chairmanship of the party should be given to the South now”.
Dr. Ononuju scolded Atiku for talking down on Obi and the labour party on his interview with Arise Television. He said that PDP could not have won the Osun governorship election if not that Obi had to mobilize the Igbo community in Osogbo to vote for the PDP candidate having realised that the candidate of Labour party, Hon. Yusuf Lasun was not prepared for the election. He said that the twist led to the burning of the shop of Igbo trades in Osogbo adding that the PDP governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke spoke on BBC Igbo where he thanked the ‘Obidient’ team for rallying behind PDP.
Ononuju warned that PDP should not take the ‘Obidient’ team for granted but rather do the needful if they want to enjoy the support of the South in 2023 general election.
