Public commentator says “Ortom shopping for presidential candidate outside PDP”; Governor Bala Mohammed threatens to dump Atiku campaign

Veteran journalist, Babajide Otitoju has said that the PDP crisis seems like it’s never going to come to an end anytime soon.

He reasoned that while the Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike has already taken a stand, Governors of Abia state (Okezie Ikpeazu), Enugu (Ifeanyi Uguwanyi), Oyo ( Seyi Makinde) and Benue (Samuel Ortom) are playing the ostrich.

Analyzing the situation on Saturday’s episode of Issues with Jide, Veteran journalist and public commentator on TVC television Babajide Otitoju said they are not ready to vote for Atiku Abubakar.

Otitoju posits that the public rating of Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi over PDP’s Presidential Candidate Atiku Abubakar by Governor Ortom as someone with more capacity than their own presidential candidate, his own party says a lot.

Recall that Governor Ortom had said that he has withdrawn his support for Atiku.

BKO as he is called also stated that elders in Benue state believed to be loyal to Ortom has also said they are not going to vote for Atiku.

It is therefore no longer in doubt that Governor Ortom is not going to work for Atiku.

“At this stage, Ortom is shopping for a presidential candidate outside of the presidential candidate of his own party.

“Let us not deceive ourselves, it doesn’t also look like the quarrel between Nyesom Wike and other governors with Ayu, the national chairman of the party, whom they have told to resign and insists he will not resign will end soon. They are not prepared to let this matter go as long as Iyiorcha Ayu insists that he will remain in office.

“They are most likely going to work for someone else.

Oyo Governor, Seyi Makinde had also stated that he was not going to support Atiku Abubakar unless their demands are met.

BKO said in his view, the party will go into the presidential elections with the crisis unresolved because the national PDP Chairman Ayi cannot be dropped at this stage.

“The closer the election gets, the more difficult it becomes for the PDP to drop its national chairman and replace him with someone else.

“At this stage, their minds are already made up. They will continue to stand by Ayu, and because of the way Atiku has seemingly continued to back Ayu, those governors are not going to give Atiku their support unless something miraculous happens in the days leading to the election.

“I am convinced that Wike will work against Atiku in the election and it will mortally hurt the PDP if he does not get the support of at least five governors.

“How many governors have they got? If half of the governors have refused to work for them, how is Atiku going to win the election?

According to BKO, PDP leaders do not want Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike to have his way as usual but this will come at a very cost to the party and to the candidates of the party.

These states, according to Mr Otitoju, are traditional strongholds of the PDP.

The Benue state governor is saying that, in terms of his passion for Nigeria, in terms of his desire for change, in terms of his ability to reach out to people in town, Peter Obi is the best, which means he thinks that Obi will be somebody that should get his support.

“Obi’s supporters are reading what he’s saying. So in the end, his own supporters may be looking to give Obi their votes, and that way they are nibbling away at the strength of the PDP.

Meanwhile, there is seeming disquiet in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over threats by the Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed to back out of the Atiku Presidential Campaign.

Mohammed is said to be angry over alleged intelligence that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is not keen on his second-term ticket.

He allegedly felt slighted that he was not given free hand to manage the campaign in the Northeast.

The governor is said to also complain about alleged disdain for him by the party’s presidential candidate.