Ahead of the November 16 gubernatorial election in Kogi State, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, has waded into the crisis in the state’s chapter of the party, saying unity among the warring factions is needed to win the general election.
As part of the ongoing reconciliations, Huhuonline.com gathered that Atiku met with the PDP gubernatorial candidate, Mohammed Wada, in Dubai and also met with Sen. Dino Melaye, one of the aggrieved contenders for the party’s ticket, on how to mend the schism that widened after the party’s primaries. Atiku decided to wade into the crisis and ensure reconciliation, after Melaye rejected the offer to lead the PDP governorship election campaign in the state.
Sources told Huhuonline.com that Wada reached out to Atiku after meeting with his brother, and former governor of the state, Idris Wada. It was further gathered that the inability to achieve reconciliations between the PDP governorship aspirants has stalled the flag-off of the main election campaign. Atiku would also meet with the former governor of Kogi State, Ibrahim Idris, to reconcile him with his son, Suleiman, who is believed to be the sponsor of the PDP governorship candidate.
He said: “The essence of Atiku meeting the former Kogi State governor is to make him to ensure that his son withdraws his suit against Wada from court and pave the way for the flag-off of the governorship campaign in the state. The crisis in Kogi State PDP is becoming intractable because the former governor who ruled the state between 2003 and 2011 is at war with his son, Suleiman and his mother for supporting Jubrin Isa for the governorship election.
“So, in 2019, the children of Ibrahim Idris saw it as an opportunity to pay back their father in his own coin by supporting Mohammad Wada against the person whom their father is supporting, Mohammed Ibrahim. The matter is so delicate as the winner of the 2019 PDP governorship is the younger brother of the former governor who ruled the state from 2011 to 2015.”
According to the source, Atiku’s main assignment is to persuade the former governor to ask his son to withdraw his lawsuit against his brother-in-law who is married to his blood sister.
Atiku, it was learnt, will ensure that the former governor supports the PDP governorship candidate as such a reconciliation with the former governor is widely believed; would deliver the Igala votes, which account for over 54% of the electorate in the state to the PDP.
The intrigues have continued as 10 former governorship aspirants had endorsed the candidature of Wada. Speaking at a media briefing, one of the contestants during the September 3 primaries, Mohammed Tettes, stated that 10 of the former governorship aspirants had endorsed Wada.
According to Tettes, the other former aspirants include Mr. Emmanuel Omebije, Air Vice Marshal Salifu Atawodi (rtd), Grace Adejoh, Dr. Joseph Erico, Alhaji Kabiru Haruna, Adebayo Averehi and Aminu Sulaiman. Eight of the former aspirants were present during the briefing, while Atawodi and Adoji were said to have travelled out of the country but had declared their support for Wada.
