Wike, Ikpeazu’s preferred successors, Makinde shun Atiku’s meeting with PDP gov candidates

Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Rivers State, Siminialayi Fubara, and his Abia State counterpart, Uchenna Ikonne, were absent from the meeting held by the presidential candidate of their party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, with PDP 2023 guber candidates in Abuja on Saturday.

Both Fubara and Ikonne had emerged the PDP governorship candidates in Rivers and Abia states to succeed Governors Nyesom Wike and Okezie Ikpeazu, respectively.

Atiku’s meeting with the PDP guber candidates held at a time Wike and some governors are in London to deliberate on strategies needed to survive the crisis rocking the party.

Wike has been at loggerheads with the party leadership since he lost the presidential ticket to Atiku. The crisis worsened after Atiku picked Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate, ignoring the recommendation of those who shortlisted Wike.

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State was also absent from the meeting.

The PDP presidential candidate, who confirmed the meeting on his Facebook page, said it was convened to review the state of the nation and how the party could mobilize supporters and other Nigerians behind it for the 2023 elections.

Atiku said, “Today, I met with the governorship candidates of the PDP at my residence in Abuja. It was an opportunity for us to x-ray the state of the nation and how as one, we can mobilise Nigerians for the task of ousting the ruling party and commencing the rebuilding of Nigeria.”

The guber candidates who attended the meeting included those of Kaduna, Plateau, Katsina, Lagos, Delta, Yobe, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Kwara, Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Niger, Kano and Sokoto states.