Internal War: Atiku And Wike Blamed For PDP’s Major Election Disaster

Internal War: Atiku And Wike Blamed For PDP’s Major Election DisasterAt a tense conference in Abuja, leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) engaged in a heated exchange over who bears responsibility for the party’s ongoing crisis, which has persisted since its controversial presidential primary before the last general election. The PDP, Nigeria’s main opposition party, has faced internal turmoil, widely blamed for its defeat to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The conference, titled “Fix PDP to Fix Nigeria,” took place on Tuesday, with several prominent members voicing their concerns. Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, a member of the House of Representatives, accused Nyesom Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former Rivers State governor, of being a major cause of the party’s problems. Ugochinyere also criticized the PDP’s Acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, for his role in the party’s decline.

Ugochinyere stated, “We must first fix ourselves before we can fix Nigeria. If we don’t address our leadership struggles, the public will continue to mock us. What is Damagum still doing as chairman, and Wike has clearly switched sides, running errands for the APC.”

On the other hand, PDP’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, shifted the blame to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Abdullahi argued that Atiku’s actions deepened the divisions within the party, especially during the 2023 election, where his failure to address dissent from five governors weakened the PDP’s position.

Abdullahi further accused Atiku and the party’s former chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, of undermining the party’s interests. He stressed that the current National Working Committee (NWC) inherited the party’s problems rather than creating them.

This public exchange of accusations underscores the deep internal rifts within the PDP, raising questions about the party’s ability to recover and rebuild ahead of future elections.