Wike, Makinde, Ikpeazu boycott PDP national caucus meeting

The national caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) met on Wednesday ahead of the national executive committee (NEC) scheduled to hold today.

The meeting was held at the Akwa Ibom governor’s lodge in Asokoro, Abuja.

Members of the national caucus comprise serving and former presidents and vice-presidents, principal officers of the senate and house of representatives, and all serving state governors who are members of the party. 

Iyorchia Ayu, PDP chairman; Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate; Walid Jibrin, the board of trustees (BoT) chairman; Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto; Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, and Douye Diri of Bayelsa were among those present at the meeting.

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers; Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, and Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, were among those who failed to attend. 

Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, was represented by his deputy, Benson Abounu. 

The outcome of the meeting was not made public.

Meanwhile, protesters stormed the venue of the meeting and demanded the removal of Ayu. 

Ayu has been under pressure of late, with calls for his resignation coming from different quarters amid the party’s internal crisis.

TheCable had reported how allies of Wike demanded that the PDP national chairman should step down as a precondition for resolving the rift with Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate.

Some members of the party’s national working committee national (NWC) are also said to be pushing for a probe of the party’s finances under Ayu’s watch.

Crisis broke out in the main opposition party after Abubakar picked Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, as his running mate for the 2023 elections, overlooking Wike who was recommended by a panel comprising NWC members and governors.

Wike came second to Abubakar in the PDP presidential primary election in May after the last-minute withdrawal of Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto, who asked his supporters to back the former vice-president.

A day after the primary election, Ayu openly celebrated Atiku’s victory, describing Tambuwal as “the hero of the convention”.

TheCable understands that the NEC meeting that will take place today will take a decision on the calls for Ayu’s removal and also ratify the membership of the presidential campaign council for Abubakar.