Bode George, a former National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Southwest has reacted to the rift between party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike.
While speaking on Arise Television, George said something triggered the face-off between Wike and Atiku.
According to him, Wike is not working against the party.
The PDP chieftain said Wike is a bonafide member of the party.
When asked if Wike is working against PDP, he said: “That’s exactly what I’m driving at. Wike and Atiku just didn’t get out in different directions, something happened. And the party leaders must come down, do an in-depth post-mortem analysis of what happened.”
Justifying Wike’s appointment in the APC-led government, George said, “Once party A wins an election, it opens the door to say, ‘Let’s have a united group.
“When Obasanjo won the election in 1999, he invited people from ANPP, APGA, AD,” citing example with the late Chief Bola Ige who served as the Attorney-General of the Federation while he was a member of the Alliance for Democracy.
“We can’t just have a Berlin wall to say that once you’re a member of this, you can’t serve there. The fact that you’re serving there doesn’t mean you’ve left your party.
“According to Wike, he wrote a letter to serve in the APC government. He still plays the music. How can he work against the PDP? I don’t believe it,” George said, adding that “there are issues to be sorted out”.
“I just came back from Ibadan where we had an elders’ meeting in respect to discordant voices that are coming out from Ondo State. People should get back to their various Local Governments and contribute their quota.
“It’s unfair for committed members of the party to make such assertions in public. Discipline is part of the management in any organisation. What Pearse said isn’t correct,” he added.