Loyalists of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State have pulled out of the campaign council of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
This comes amid the pressure on the party’s National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, to step down. Earlier, Walid Jibrin, had relinquished his role as the Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman of the opposition party, but Wike’s camp rejected this.
Rising from a meeting in Port Harcourt this morning, Wike’s loyalists vowed not to partake in Atiku’s campaign activities until Ayu resigns.
Chief Olabode Georgeread the communique on behalf of the group. He said: “The published presidential campaign council list translates to putting the cart before the horse, the pertinent issue remains the Ayu leadership.
“We therefore resolve that senator Iyorchia Ayu resigns as the national chairman for an acting chairman of southern Nigeria extraction. We resolved not to participate in the campaign council in whatever capacity until the resignation of Dr Iyorchia Ayu.”
Among those who attended the meeting which held at Wike’s Port Harcourt residence were former Governors Olusegun Mimiko, Ibrahim Dankwambo, Jonah Jang, Ayo Fayose and Donald Duke.
Also there were former Justice Minister, Mohammed Adoke; Prof Jerry Gana, former Information Minister; South-South Chairman of the PDP, Dan Orbih; and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche.
Many of those who attended the meeting are members of the over 300-man campaign team of the PDP presidential candidate.