The Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, is under immense pressure from his loyalists following reports that he has yielded to the demand by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, for the removal of the PDP National Chairman, lyiochia Ayu.
It was gathered in Abuja, on Friday, that a number of agreements were arrived at after the face-to-face meeting between Atiku and Wike in London. Part of the agreement, it was learnt, was that Ayu should be given a dignified exit and accommodated in the new PDP government when it is formed.
The Wike Camp equally extracted a commitment from Atiku to be allowed to produce Ayu’s replacement and that the person should be from the South West Zone.
It is however unclear if Atiku yielded to the demand by Wike’s camp to serve for a single term to allow for power to shift to the south to assuage feelings of betrayal of southerners.
The Wike camp which outnumbered the Atiku camp two to one at the London meeting was also able to extract a commitment from the PDP candidate to produce the Senate President and some Principal officers of the National Assembly.
Members of the Wike camp will also be appointed into yet-to-be-agreed key ministerial positions as well as the headship of Federal parastatals and agencies if they win the 2023 general elections.
In return, the Wike camp agreed to play a pivotal role in marketing the Atiku/ Okowa ticket and providing logistics for the general campaign.
A source familiar with the development who confided in Saturday Vanguard, said, “It was also agreed that media hostilities should cease and this was largely responsible for the statement Atiku caused his Media Office to issue on Thursday.
“Atiku was left with little room to negotiate, he was outnumbered and the open solicitation by the candidates of the Labour Party and the All Progressives Congress, Mr Peter Obi and Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu did not help matters.”