Atiku Abubakar, Turakin Adamawa, former vice president and presidential candidate of the the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 25 February 2023’s general elections, is perhaps the most experienced and complex politician around. He has been in the mix since late 80s, when the late Bamanga Tukur was aspiring to become the Governor of the old Gongola State. He was active in the campaign and was said to had made huge donations to the aspiration.
He was also active when the regime of former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida kick-started its Transition To Civil Rule Programme with the zero party election into the Local Government Councils. He did not contest any local government position in his native Jada Local Government area of old Gongola State, but when a key figure in the late Tafida Katsina, Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’ardua’s underground political phalanx. His time in the political terrain, clearly predates that of another high profile presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the game. Although the duo were to later coalesced in the late Yar’adua’s political phalanx, Peoples Front (PF) and later in the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Atiku was visible enough in the incongruous rainbow coalition that was SDP. His titanic governorship battle with a radical lecturer, Dr Bala John Takaya, who came from the Peoples Solidarity Party (PSP) group, in the old Gongola State, was a record for the history books. At the time, it was only the late Professor Femi Agbalajobi and Chief Dapo Sarumi’s battle for the Soul of Lagos State that was ahead the Atiku-Takaya’s battle.
www.focusmagazineonline.com checks revealed that the duo locked horns together, as in several states, including Lagos State, till the Military President, Ibrahim Babangida, either out of frustration or acting out a bigger script, announced the mass disqualifications of all candidates in states where there were disagreement. They were disqualified from further participating in the, alongside others from the States where the parties could not sort the crises arising from the governorship primaries.

After his disqualification, Atiku, simply recoiled back into the Musa Yar’adua’s close-nit political machine. He was working silently, within the system, to earn the Tafida’s trust, which eventually got. This he got after the Babangida’s regime also dished out the same treatment to Shehu Musa Yar’adua and others. Gen. Babangide sweepingly disqualified Yar’dua, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, Chief Olu Falae, Mr. Arthur Nzeribe, Alhaji Sola Saraki and others from contesting the presidential primaries. He thereafter called fro the “newbreed” to step forward.
Not daunting by this political humiliation, Yar’adua simply tossed his loyal boy, Atiku Abubarka forward. Atiku grapped the show firmly. He started building on the political bridges his boss had built. He easily picked the nomination at the State level in Gongola, unlike the intenicine governorship duel with Dr. Bala Takaya.
At the Special Convention of the SDP in March, 1993, Yar’adua was the invisible force pushing the Atiku’s candidacy. He rallied his PF elements nationwide behinde him. By the close of first balloting, Atiku had stalemated the presidential primary, with M. K. Abiola and Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe, the party’s National Chairman. He was later to be prevailed upon by his mentor, Musa Yar’ardua and others, to step down for the eventual winners, late Bashorun M. K. O. Abiola. At the Convention, Asiwaju was a delegate. He had earlier contested and won the Lagos West Senatorial seat under the Party.

The Military interregnum that followed the June 12, 1993’s presidential election debacle was not kind to many politicians. But not Atiku. Despite the vicissitudes and tragedies of the time, he managed to survived it. During the Military interregnum between 1993 and 1999, he remained a strong aide of the late Gen. Yar’adua and when the leader died in prison custody, he simply became the inheritor of the Yar’adua’s political machine now renamed the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM). He took the PDM to coalesced with others to form the PDP and won the governorship election of his native Adamawa State. During the period, between 19993 and 1999, his State, Gongola was partitioned into two: Taraba and Adamawa.

With this development, his headache in the old Gongola State, Dr. Bala Takaya was relieved. Takaya, a Christian had heavily relied on the Christians supports in the old Gongola State. With the creation of Taraba State, majority of Christians fell into the new State, while Adamawa was Muslims dominated. Takaya’s Mubi Local Government became a minority tribe in Adamawa, this affected him badly politically. He was no longer visible in the politics of the muslim-dominated Adamawa State. Adamawa therefore, became Atiku’s political fiefdom. He simply picked the governorship ticket and prevailed in the general election. He was governor-elect when the the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo picked him as his running mate. The team won. Ever, since Atiku Abubarka has been ever present in the presidential race each time the nation loo k to select one.
Atiku’s experience in the game of politics and in the presidential race clearly transcends all others. But this is not for the bellicose Nyesome Wike, the eccentric Governor of Rivers State, is demystifying the Trojan with ease. Whenever Wike sneezes, not only Atiku, but the entire PDP structure, catches cold. Each time Wike roars, either from his Port Harcourt den, or anywhere in the country, the whole of PDP seem to go into hibernation.
Ordinarily, Wike should not be a problem for an Atiku to manage. What with Atiku’s vast experience in party politics and administration, but most suprisingly, the reverse is playing out. But most analysts who spoke to www.focusmagazineonline.com were of the opinion that the type of politics PDP plays, has turned Wike and his many ilks within the party into wild lion. ‘These lions have become wild, and now loosened on the system. No one can restrained them’, says Mr. Ade Cardoso from Lagos Island. Nyesome Wike, a lawyer, politician, according to findings by www.focusmagazineonline.com is largely, a creation of Mr. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former governor of Rivers State and a former Minister of Transportation. Another former governor, Dr. Peter Odili, was said to had made him a local government council chairman, but when Amaechi came, he pushed him up as his Chief of Staff and later nominated him as a Minister when President Goodluck Ebele Johnathan came on board. All these Dr. Odili was said to have insistently protested, but Amaechi was alleged to have stood his ground.

Once a Minister, Wike became an untamed tiger. From Abuja, he started using the state security apparatus to intimidate Amaechi. His collaboration with the then First Lady, Dame Patience Jonanthan pushed Amaechi out of the PDP, and landed him in the camp of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for political succour.
Wike’s style is grandly unorthodox, unconventional and mostly eccentric. His style hugely contrasted that of Odili and Amaechi; two gentlemen with noble personalities, hence he could not be reprehensed. Going to a political war with him could be a mistake. Atiku should have known this all along from the way he dealth with both mentors, Odili and Amaechi. But Atiku failed in this. He got his nose bruised by the bulldozing Wike.
The drumming and singings at the Convention ground of the PDP’s presidential primary had hardly paled out of hearing, with the excitements still thick in the air, when Wike raised his coarsed voice. He roared menacingly right from the vicinity of the convention ground. He told whoever cared to listen that he would not accept the outcome of the “charade”, called presidential primary.
However, www.focusmagazineonline.com checks revealed that the party, going by its Constitution ought to have zoned its presidency to the Southern part of the country. In view of this, Dele Momodu, Nyesome Wike, Peter Obi and few other southerners had made effort to clinch the ticket. They invested the forty million naira on the ‘Expression of Interest/Nomination Form’ and embarked on a huge merry-go-round round the country, all in the name of consultation and campaigns. Perhaps, Peter Obi got the signals very early. He haphazardly left the party before the collection of the forty million naira nomination form began. But others remained till the conveyor belt conveying them was worned out. They lost all, in a most bizarre manner.
Sokoto State governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal was one of the aspirants. He pulled the rugs off the feet’s of the southern aspirants right at the convention ground. At the eve of voting, he declared unequivocally, to the amazement of all the remaining aspirants at the convention ground, that he was stepping down for the Waziri Adamawa, Alhaji Atiku Abubarka. Others simply collapsed.
Not satisfied, Wike angrily flew back to Port Harcourt awaiting what would happen in the race for the selection of the vice presidential candidate. A seventeen-man committee set up by Atiku was said to have zeroed down on him, but was overtuned and stunted for the Delta State governor, Dr. Ifenayi Okowa. Wike simply became enraged. The lion became wild. Now that the lion is wild, and on the loose, the party’s major objective for the first part of year 2023, the general elections, seem threatened. Wike’s intransigency, has throw the house of PDP in disarray. The party has not know peace, ever since.
According to Mr. Cardoso, a stalwart from Lagos, who spoke to www.focusmagazineonilne.com “the party has split down the line into four. The Wike’s gropup, the Obi’s group, the Kwakwanso’s group and the Atiku’s group. We are now confused. With this, winning any election is difficult.”
Wike did not hide his bitterness at the developments within the party. He feels bitter that those whom he claimed “abandoned the party when needed most are the ones coming back to take over it”. He cited how Atiku and Saraki led others out of the party in 2014 thus resulting in the defeat to the rival APC and the total abandoning of the party since the conclusion of the general elections in 2019 only to rushed back when it was time to contest. He vowed never to allowed them have their way. And he has been acting his vow ever since. When on September 23, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) unfolded the five-hundred-and twenty strong list of the members of his Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Wike was not too astonished by the names in it, especially those from his State, nor even bothered that his name only appeared as an ordinary member. He would have rather wished his names were to be conspicuously missing.
Although, the leading opposition party, PDP released a comprehensive list of its Campaign Council with five hundred and twenty members including few from Nyesom Wike’s camp across the country, it has not impacted on the tawny and acrimonious relationships between the group and the candidate, Alhaji Atiku. The Wike’s camp had earlier distanced themselves from the compilation of the list, insisting, they were not going to be part of the effort.
The PCC has the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel as the Chairman, while Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State of Wike’s camp is the Vice Chairman of the Campaign Organisation in the south and Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed is the Vice Chairman North and the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu is the Vice Chairman North Central.
Others are the Standard bearer of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his Deputy, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as well as the Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara.
Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal is the Director General of the campaign while former governor of Cross River State, Lyel Imoke is the Deputy Director General Operations and Professor Adewale Oladipo is the Deputy Director General Administration and Raymond Dokpesi emerging as the Deputy Director General, Technical and Systems. Former National Chairman of the party, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo is the Deputy Director General, Research and Strategy.
The list was signed by Umar Mohammed Bature, the National Organising Secretary listed every other person on the list as members including the embattled Nyesom Wike.
Wike, unsurprisingly, merely treated the list with cruel disdain. He maintained his demand that for peace to reign in the party, the National chairman, Dr. Iyorchial Ayu should be eased out of office. He accused the former Senate President of partisanship, corruption and working against the southern interests during the convention of the party.
This PCC list, www.focusmagazineonline.com learnt, was the final straw. Wike had accused the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, of disrespecting him by picking the state’s PDP presidential campaign nominees without his contribution. Wike response to this ‘disrespect’ was to hastly mobilize a group of four other governors sympathic to his cause. They formed G-5, now the called themselves the ‘Integrity Group’. The group has been doing everything it could to distrup the peace and cohesion within the party.
The governor made the claim while inaugurating the PDP campaign council and the launching of the party’s governorship campaign office in Port Harcourt, the state capital, adding that Atiku selected “enemies” of Rivers into his campaign council for the 2023 general elections.
Wike stressed that the photos of Atiku and those of the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, have been missing from the state’s PDP campaign materials because they don’t want him to campaign for the party at the national level. “Some people have asked me why they haven’t seen the presidential candidate’s picture and the party chairman’s. I said what are you talking about? The presidential candidate entered my state and picked members of the presidential council without a me, the governor of the state, having a contribution,” he fumed.
Angered, Wike belched: “The presidential candidate entered Rivers State and picked those he wants to pick without my contribution. So, they said they don’t need me to campaign for them, that they don’t need Rivers people to campaign for them. Will you force yourself?”, he explained further. He streesed that “I have never seen how people will disrespect a state like Rivers State and go and choose those who are enemies of the state without our contributions.”
Speaking on who he and his team will campaign for in the forthcoming presidential election, Wike said they will only campaign for the party’s governorship candidate, the senatorial candidates, and others who carried them along, saying, “If they want us to be involved in the campaign, they will come and tell us. If he (Atiku) thinks we are important, they will come and meet us,” the governor maintained, adding that nobody can intimidate Rivers when he is still governor of the state.
At a point, there seemed an attempted attempt to effect a peace deal between the five aggrieved Nyesom Wike-led PDP governors (G5 Governors) and the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The Governors had appeared to had extended an olive branch to the party, in what appears to be the biggest glimmer of hope of a possible resolution of the crisis, with both camps have sending out signals of their readiness to give peace a chance.
Wike had, while fielding questions from reporters in Bauchi after his group met with Governor Bala Mohammed, said: “I have said it several times that we are ready for reconciliation; we have never closed the door for reconciliation. All we are asking for is equity, fairness and justice, and that is the hallmark PDP stands for.
Without hiding anything, Wike claimed he was after justice and fairplay. “All we are saying, let the right things be done. When the right thing is done, the country would see that the crisis in the party is over. These G5 Governors, we are saying, are the bedrock of the party, so we would not close the doors for reconciliation. We are for reconciliation any day, anytime.”
But barely 24 hours after Wike’s statement, Atiku jubilantly welcomed the G5’s peace overtures. His Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, quoted Atiku as being positively upbeat about reports that Wike and his group are favourably disposed to resolving all outstanding issues.
Ibe said: “Atiku Abubakar also expresses his commitment to a negotiation that will resolve the crisis of confidence and pave the way for a much stronger and united PDP.
However, his call has failed to gain traction among party leaders. many of them were of the view that taking such an action will further complicate matters, since some of Wike’s group demands requires constitutional amendment.
Those who share this view hinged their argument on provisions of Chapter 10 of the party’s Constitution which deals with Discipline and says only the National Executive Committee can entertain any question of discipline of members of NEC, governors are also members of NEC.
Kola Ologbondiyan, spokesman for the Atiku/Okowa Campaign spoke to www.focusmagazineonline.com He believed “We will soon put our enemies to shame on this matter. We know those who are afraid of PDP’s imminent electoral victory would want the issues we are about to resolve to continue but I assure Nigerians that sooner than later, these outstanding issues will be resolved and Nigeria will be the better for it.”
Chairman of the party, Dr Ayu however continued to carry out party functions but have been largely anonymous at campaign events thus fuelling speculations about his political future.
He has not been regular at various campagns rallies. When the party flagged off its state campaign rally, he was not there. Also he was not at the Presidential Campaign rally in Maiduguri and the inauguration of the Party’s Youth Campaign Council in Abuja, on Thursday. He was represented on all these occasions by the Deputy National Chairman (North), Umar Damagun.
Unmindful of the series of intricate web of crises around the party, Chief Dele Momodu, Director, Strategic Communications of the Atiku-Okowa Campaign, allayed these fears, saying, “I spent time with Ayu yesterday, he is extremely busy, you know we lost the son of our great leader, Senator David Mark, as we speak, the National Chairman should be in Benue.”
However, Wike remained a recluse and belligerent. He sensed that the party may apply the big rod on him by way of a sanction vis disciplinary measure, he pre-empt the party to sack him. He openly dared the Party to apply the stick by sacking him for demanding justice from the leadership of the party.
Wike was said to had issued the challenge Friday night while giving his remarks during a state banquet he organised in honour of members of the G-5 who were in Port Harcourt to flag-off PDP campaigns in the state ahead of the 2023 general elections. The campaign flag-off was held on Saturday.
The G-5 PDP governors include Wike, Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Okezie Ikpeazu, (Abia).
“They say they will sack me. I have been looking for the day they will sack me. Then they sack me, I pepper you. You will know that khaki no be leather,” Wike said.
To further hurt the party the G-5 was rumoured to have met the strategic team of the APC’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos during the week. The group was in Lagos to confer with an elder of the party and its former National Deputy Chairman, Chief Bode George but made a detour to the Asiwaju’s camp.
Therefore, the PDP G-5 Governors led by Governor Nyesom Wike were said to have endorsed the aspirations of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for President, saying Peter Obi’s South East support is not enough for him to be President in 2023.
The G-5 Governors, who now dubbed themselves ” The Integrity Group” and vowed not to support the candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, have instead declared to mobilize support for the rival candidate, Tinubu, saying that supporting Peter Obi would be a waste as he does not stand any chance in the forthcoming presidential elections.
Nyesom Wike, had earlier given indication of his intention to back the candidate of the ruling party. He recklessly escalated his long running war of words with the leadership of the Party, by declaring that neither he, nor his G-5 governor allies, would work for the party’s presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, at next year’s elections.
He took on the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, on some damming corruption allegations, challenging the former Senate President, to approach the law courts, if the accusations were untrue. Wike made the claims when the Rivers State chapter of the PDP launched its campaign for the 2023 elections at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Omagwa in Port Harcourt.
Wike also continued his tirade against Ayu, insisting that the party chairman lacked the moral rectitude to lead him and Rivers State to any campaign.
He alleged that within one year in office, the party chairman was already building a private university in Benue State, wondering what he would do if given power.
The governor, who in an interview last month alleged that Ayu collected N1 billion bribe money from a presidential aspirant in Lagos, said: “I will continue to say this. If anybody feels hurt, let him go to court and challenge me.
“No man who is corrupt will lead me to a campaign. I have challenged Ayu. You are corrupt and you cannot lead me into any campaign. Rivers will not be led to a campaign by Ayu. Rivers State is hurt and angry.
“I went to Benue State, Ayu, you have not stayed one year in office and you are fighting corruption. How do you fight corruption? You took N1billion. I told you, you took N100 million and the money we realised from the primary. Ayu, sue me. Sue Wike.
“And you are building a university in Benue State. You have not gotten up to one year. Assuming you enter office, what will you do?
Any hope of Wike’s camp making up with Atiku’s became even more remote at yesterday’s rally as the Rivers State governor declared that the PDP presidential candidate was on his own as Rivers people would no longer dissipate their energy working for “their enemies”.
And that much was obvious as the 38,000-capacity stadium was filled to the brim without the image of the party’s presidential candidate anywhere in sight
Wike roared at the Port Harcourt rally. “You cannot fight Rivers State and go free. Challenge us to a debate. We are integrity governors. Who are those who killed PDP in Ogun State in 2019?”. he asked rhetorically.
He continued his tirade against the party: “Ask them who ran for Ogun State Deputy Governor in 2019? Who are those who killed PDP in Ogun State in 2019? Now they come to media houses and begin to talk.
“They had EFCC problem in 2015 with their wife. They came to me to rescue them. I was not Mr. Donatus, but today I am Mr. Donatus.”
Surprisingly, Wike is now speaking of President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC in glowing terms. At a banquet organised by the PDP in honour of the G-5 governors who were in Port Harcourt for the party’s state campaign flag-off on Friday night, the governor declared that President Buhari had graciously released all outstanding derivations allowance due to all Oil producing states since 1999.
He said he had used his own share of the derivation funds owed the Niger Delta core states of Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa and Edo since 1999 and released by President Muhammadu Buhari to execute and inaugurate projects in the state.
He then threw a challenge to his colleagues in the Oil Producing States, who got the same money to come out and account for it.
Wike said: “I thank President Buhari and people have been sending me messages, saying why did I say that? But I say why won’t I say that?
The governor then turned on his usual topic, Atiku, saying Nigerians should not vote for a sectional leader in the 2023 presidential election. Wike pointed out that the country does not need a man who asked electorates not to vote for a Yoruba or Igbo man.
Atiku had said casually last October that the northerners needed to vote for him rather than a Yoruba or Igbo candidate because he’s a Pan-Nigerian with a northern extraction. He made the remark in October during an interactive session with the Arewa Joint Committee held in Kaduna State.
According to Wike: “It is not enough to say don’t vote for an Igbo man or Yoruba man, but what we need is to vote for you who will lead Nigeria to development.”
The Atiku camp has also made some inroads into the camp of the bellicose governor of Rivers State. A former governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwambo has jumped ship and declared support for the PDP’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar. He described the ambition as “a North East project”.
Dankwambo and Gombe PDP candidate, Jibrin Dan Barde were known prominent members of the Wike’s Integrity Group. The camp had campaigned for the emergence of Wike as flag bearer at the Convention and had demanded the resignation of the National chairman, Dr Iyorcha Ayu as a condition to back Atiku.
At the opening of the Atiku Presidential campaign office in Gombe, the duo was conspicuously absent,. They claimed they were not invited
However, at the campaign, Dankwambo donated 20 buses for the actualisation of Atiku’s aspiration in 2023. He said: “The whole party has welcomed Atiku, which shows they are with him.”
To really hurt Atiku’s chances in Rivers State, Wike has pledged “logistics supports” to two other frontline candidates whenever they are in the State for a campaign. This is alongside the latest endorsement of the candidate of the ruling party, APC, Bola Tinubu.
Wike, at various times pledged to furnish the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi and his NNPP’s counterparty, Dr. Rabiu Kwalwanso with “all logistics support” needed for his campaign in Rivers State.
He made the pledge to the two of them at sepere occasions, when they came to Port Harcourt to commission projects on his invitation.
“Each time you want to come to campaign in the state, let me know, all the logistics support we will give to you,” Mr Wike told Mr Obi who was in the state with his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed to commission the ninth flyover executed by Mr Wike’s administration.
He said: “I have no regrets in saying I will support Obi with logistics. He is a former governor, and if he is coming to campaign here, I will give him logistics support.
“I will give him vehicles, and security; I must give him logistics support. And I told him yesterday that his party will not get even one position in Rivers, not House of Assembly; there is no other party in Rivers. The only party we have here is PDP, Rivers State chapter
Following Monday, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, (NNPP) Rabiu Kwankwaso was also in Port Harcout to commission some projects. Wike made the same pledge of “logistic support” for his campaign in the state.
Wike made the promise during the inauguration of the Mgbutanwo Internal Roads in the Emohua Local Government Area of the state.
But on Monday (21 November) the G-5) and their supporters were embarrassed in Lagos, party faithfuls in the state, disrupted their meeting. They sang songs in support of the party’s presidential candidate and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar.
The same Monday, the group met with the APC’s candidate strategy team at a location in Lagos Island. They were said to have decided to endorse the candidate of the ruling party for the presidential election