PDP discontent over Atiku’s pledge to Wike as president

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has been shaken by the rumor that the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, offered Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, the PDP’s 2027 ticket.
There are rumors that Atiku promised to hand over to Wike in 2027 during his meeting with him on Thursday in Abuja.
In order to win Wike’s support in the general elections in 2023, it was said that Atiku had promised to support Wike’s ambition.
According to sources who were present at the meeting, Governor Wike was more concerned about changes in the party’s leadership.
The source claims that Atiku’s decision to back Wike’s ambition in 2027 has enraged some party chieftains, particularly in the south of the country.
“This is not the time to start talking about who will succeed Atiku,” said an anonymous former national vice chairman of the party who spoke with the Nation.It’s a distraction that’s worse than anything Wike and his associates have done in the past.
In addition, he stated that it is not Atiku’s responsibility to select the southern party to succeed him as president.
If the promise to Wike is true, the PDP leader said, it could demoralize our supporters in some parts of the country.
The PDP Volunteers Forum, a group in the party, said that Atiku should not openly hand over the presidency to Wike, even though he should offer only one term.
“If not properly managed, the resultant anger from other zones of the southern region will harm our chances in the presidential election,” the group’s convener, Gerald Arikawe, and secretary, Ilemobade Oke, stated in a statement.
According to a source in Governor Wike’s camp, the Rivers State Governor has been told not to take Atiku’s word for it.
In an effort to win Wike’s support in 2023, they believe Atiku is using the offer to buy time.
“It is true that Atiku came to beg Wike again,” the source stated.Wike was to encourage his group to join the PDP campaign train, he wanted them to.In 2027, he played the card of supporting Wike.
By doing this, Atiku is agreeing to serve only one term if elected and to step down so Wike can take over.The same Atiku who has repeatedly denied his earlier pledge to serve a single four-year term?Why the sudden shift in opinion?Is he not the same person who said Ndigbo would find a successor for him?
He has also been promising the same to the Southwest.We have cautioned Wike about Atiku and his Greek present.We are absolutely certain that this is a ruse to gain our support and to break all of the promises made after the presidential election.