As a result of the meeting between the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, a 14-member panel has been set up to consult and make recommendations which both men will consider.
A top party source familiar with the development informed Sunday Vanguard that the membership of the panel was yet to be made public because some of them had yet to be officially informed.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, explained that the panel is expected to take off with “immediate effect.”
The PDP has been enmeshed in crisis since Atiku picked Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate for the 2023 election.
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The development went contrary to the thinking in some quarters that Wike was the natural choice after he placed second in the primary which produced Atiku as a presidential candidate.
Only two weeks ago, Atiku and Wike exchanged hot words over the running mate issue.
This led to the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting which attempted to broker a truce.
“We’ve made appreciable progress within the last 24 hours following the meeting between our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike”, the source said.
“The meeting, which took the enemies of our party by surprise, has brought down tension and restored hope about a speedy resolution of what our opponents consider as a major conflict.“
Asked which conditions have been given and what concessions have been made, the source said, “The issue of conditions did not arise when both men set aside their differences and spoke to each other frankly.
“Their followers will definitely take a cue from this and fall in line. What is now on ground is seeking a way forward.
“The recommendations, which the 14-member committee make, will be considered and action taken. I can assure you that the campaign council will follow through afterward.”
In response to questions from newsmen on the crisis within the party, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, expressed confidence that all outstanding issues will soon to resolved.
He said, “The PDP is a very large family and like most human families there are issues but I’m glad to inform you that we have organs, processes, and procedures for resolving our issues.
“We are not like the sinking All Progressives Congress, I don’t recall a meeting by their Board of Trustees, our BoT just met and have set up a committee to mediate between our candidate and Governor Wike.”
