*Warns PDP Govs, Says Wike Is A Bulldozer
A FORMER governor of Ekiti State and member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has restated his opposition to the presidential ambition of former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, on the basis of power rotation between the North and South, vowing to once again work against his election if he decides to run again in 2027.
Speaking on a television programme on Friday, April 18, Fayose declared: “I publicly worked against Atiku, and I am saying for the second time, if Atiku comes again, I will work against him. It is time to learn our lesson.”
A major stakeholder, the former governor said the internal crisis in the PDP was the result of its failure to adhere to its zoning arrangement, which he claimed was disregarded in favour of Atiku’s candidacy in the 2023 presidential primary and election.
According to him: “After eight years of a northerner, it is the turn of a southerner, which could involve someone from the Southeast, Southwest or South South.
“Those who gave or zoned power back to the north caused all these problems.”
He stressed the importance of respecting power rotation, even if informally agreed upon, saying the refusal to support a southern candidate undermined the unity of the party, just as he added: “You don’t have to like a Nyesom Wike or a Peter Obi, but there should be an unwritten, respected gentleman understands of powershift.”
Meanwhile, Fayose has described Wike as a bulldozer, cautioning PDP governors to tread carefully in their utterances and actions, adding that if the governors fail to reach an understanding with Wike, the party may be left without a presidential candidate in 2027.
He urged the governors and party leaders not to disregard Wike’s current warning, but to find common ground with him to advance the party’s interests.
“Let me quickly warn that this Wike you see is like a bulldozer that you must manage or find a way to avoid. When somebody says I will come to your house at a particular time and he arrives, you must know that there is problem.
“The snippets I saw of Wike earlier is saying, ‘I’m warning now, I have said my own now.’ Before trouble erupts, can we find common ground to resolve this matter, because you can’t build something on nothing.
“If the Supreme Court says Anyanwu is the National Secretary, okay, every other pronouncement is a nullity ab initio, where will it end, if they want to send a nominee to INEC, who will send it? Is it Anyanwu or the National Chairman that both can’t serve in isolation?
“We must tread carefully. Honestly, I’m saying it, I have not seen Wike in a while, but tread cautiously. When I say things, you don’t have to believe me today, but when it catches up with you, you will remember that Fayose told you.
“This was how I told Nigerians, with all due respect to Buhari, that he will mess up this country and everybody was shouting me down, that let him do his government, which he has done and left you wounded.
“A Wike is telling us that if you go ahead to ignore the Supreme Court judgment, whatever happens, take it. But me, I want the governors to find ways to sit with him and move the party forward, else, I want to believe that there will be no candidate for the PDP. When you play into Wike’s hands, it becomes a problem.”
