Atiku-Wike rift: It seems devil has entered PDP, says Bode George

Bode George, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has appealed to Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state, and Atiku Abubakar, PDP presidential candidate, to “cool down” amid the crisis in the party.

Speaking on Wednesday during a Channels TV interview, George said it appears “some kind of devil” has entered the party.

The opposition party has been enmeshed in crisis since the conclusion of its presidential primary election in May.

Wike had contested the presidential ticket but he lost to the former vice-president.

The cracks widened after Atiku Abubakar named Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election.

Following the announcement, some party stakeholders expressed concerns that Abubakar overlooked Wike — who was said to have been recommended by a panel set up at Abubakar’s instance.

The division in the party worsened after Abubakar granted an interview to Arise TV, during which he explained his rationale for overlooking Wike.

Days after the interview, Wike fired back, accusing the party’s presidential candidate of telling “many lies”.

Efforts by PDP stakeholders and elders to resolve the crisis have since proved abortive.

Speaking on the matter, George said Atiku and Wike must understand that their ambitions cannot be bigger than the PDP.

“It is a major bother not only for me, it is a bother to a lot of the committed elders and members of the upper chamber of the party. It looks like some kind of devil has entered into the midst of our party,” he said.

“We have the capacity to resolve our crisis; we have enough experienced leaders, committed followers, who will sit and be able to resolve this crisis once and for all.

“Unfortunately we have a month and a week before we commence the campaign, my appeal now is that Governor Wike should cool down, presidential candidate Atiku should also cool down because none of their ambition should be bigger and higher than the ambition of our party. We are appealing to both of them.

“Because there is no organisation anywhere in the world that would not have crisis but the capacity and the ability to handle the resolution of such crisis would be a measure of how developed, reliable or respectable that organisation is.”