Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, says the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed to take advantage of the crisis in the party to foster unity. He said this on Sunday while speaking with journalists after a meeting with Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto. Over the past months, five PDP governors — Ortom, Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu — and their allies have been at the forefront of calls for the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu as the party’s chairman in the interest of “equity and fairness”. However, Ayu had insisted that he will not resign.   Amid the crisis, Ortom and his allies have excluded themselves from the PDP presidential campaign council. Speaking on Sunday, Ortom said though he has discussed with Tambuwal, reaching out to other aggrieved members would be meaningful. “We have discussed quite a number of issues, including the division in the PDP and the G-5, of which I am a member. He is principally here to see how we can team up and work together as a party,” he said.   “I have told him we are members of the PDP and like I have always said, the leadership of this party have failed to take advantage of the challenges of the party and make the party stronger right from when we held our national convention. “Instead of the party deploying its internal conflict resolution mechanism to look at the grievances that arose as a result of the primaries, no matter how stupid they were, they have failed to do this. Rather it is arrogance and a nonchalant attitude. “Nobody has cared to reach out to us even when we voiced out that things were not going on well. “For me, I commend him (Tambuwal) for taking this step to visit me and we have discussed my opinion on how I think this matter can be resolved and I believe that as a leader and as DG of the campaign, he will do the needful because I am not alone. “Talking to me alone will not solve the problem, but reaching out to others will be more meaningful. I also believe he will also try to do the needful to put the party together as it is.”

  The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday, laid out his plan to tackle the agitations by separatists including the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) if elected in the 2023 elections. Atiku, who spoke at The People’s Townhall in Abuja, a live event organised by Channels Television and its partners, said the demands of pro-Biafra agitators were not beyond negotiation. “The IPOB issue in the South-East is basically, as far as my understanding is concerned, about the realisation of Biafra. Is it possible for Biafra to be realised today? How? By negotiations or by going through another civil war, which we can’t afford to? “I believe we should be able to negotiate with the agitators from the South-East, as far as the issue of Biafra is concerned. We believe what they need is more autonomy as far as their sub-region is concerned. “That is why we proposed restructuring of the country, by which we mean devolution of more powers and resources. After all, there was Eastern Nigeria in the First Republic and they developed at their own pace and with their own resources,” he said. Speaking on what he described as middle-of-the-road solutions, the former Vice President said he saw no reason restructuring and devolution of more powers and resources could not quell the various agitations of the separatist groups. “The agitations are in different perspectives, to my understanding,” he said. “One of them is political and political has the sense of ‘how does the South-East participate in power sharing in the country?’ And we are in a democratic society. “There is no one single geopolitical zone in this country that on its own can achieve political power without crossing the Niger or being in alliance with other geopolitical zones. “I think this is what they should begin to think: How do they partner with other parts of the country to secure political power for their own interests or to protect their own interests. I think these are the ways to go as far as agitations by IPOB are concerned.” In his remarks, Atiku’s running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa noted that strategic engagement was crucial, adding that the principle of inclusive governance could not be ruled out. “I know that the South-East has continued to also agitate as a result of the fact that they don’t feel included. If you watch the security architecture of the current government, they don’t appear to play any major roles. So, they see themselves as ‘excluded’ as if they are not part of this nation. “That is not the type of government that Atiku Abubakar wants to run. He’s going to run an all-inclusive government in which every segment of this country will have a feeling of being part of the government and the nation. “I think that obviously will, to a very large extent, add on to the other steps that our presidential candidate will take by the time he assumes office on May 29, 2023,” he said.

  Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike has placed the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket and the retention of the presidency in the north as two wrongs that should not be allowed. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Kelvin Ebiri, he said this on Sunday at the special dedication service for the Rivers state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 election campaign rallies. The event was held at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital. While the All Progressives Congress (APC) has produced a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the presidency, the PDP presidential candidate is Atiku Abubakar, is a northerner like the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari Wike said that it’s an insult to sideline the zoning of the presidency. He stressed the importance of having a fair representation in the country’s political landscape. He said, “You play on people’s intelligence. You say Nigeria is not ripe for Muslim-Muslim ticket, I agree. But Nigeria is ripe for presidency to remain in one zone? I mean, just look at the insult. You blow hot and cold,” he said. “Most of you just sit there; you don’t ask yourselves questions. Somebody continues to sell these kind of cheap ideas. You don’t ask the person, ‘I agree with what you are saying but look at what we are saying here’. “Your party wants the presidency to go to the same zone where President Muhammadu Buhari is coming from. Who is cheating who? “It is not now that politics have come, you want to come and tell the church a different story for your own personal interest. We have to be careful so that the church is not destroyed, because, all of us, for example, we are Anglicans, I will not allow anybody, for his selfish interest to destroy the church of Nigeria. I will not allow that.” Wike and four other state governors in the PDP are holding out for fairness in the running of the party, hence their insistence that the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu resigns.

  The spokesperson of the Presidential Campaign Council of All Progressives Congress, APC, Bayo Onanuga, has revealed how he was nearly crushed to death by a vehicle in the convoy of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP along Shehu Shagari expressway, Abuja on Sunday evening. Onanuga, who described the incident as a ‘close shave with death’ said the happening occurred as he was going back home after visiting Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi at around 9 pm on Sunday.   His words, “I was driving on the last lane of Shehu Shagari Way when I noticed a convoy emerging from one of the feeder roads. I counted in the centre lane, four vehicles ahead of me. I slowed down on my own lane to give a wide berth to the convoy. “My slowing down turned a mistake as a Toyota SUV emerged from the same road where the convoy had earlier emerged. It headed straight to my car. I was petrified as the driver rammed into my Toyota Camry, by the passenger side. The force of the collision immediately severed the side mirror from the body, severely dented and scratched the two doors on its path. I watched in horror as the driver of the SUV reversed the car and joined the cavalcade, leaving me behind to my fate. “He didn’t bother to stop to check the damage his vehicle had done to my own car, whether he had left me or anyone inside it traumatized by his recklessness. He just drove away.” “The APC Campaign Director however said he followed the convoy to its final destination in T. Y Danjuma area of Abuja where he discovered that the VIP being ferried was the PDP presidential candidate. “I had a close shave with death on Sunday night in Abuja as I was returning home at about 9p.m. after a visit to Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi. I was driving on the last lane of Shehu Shagari Way when I noticed a convoy emerging from one of the feeder roads. I counted in the centre lane, four vehicles ahead of me. I slowed down on my own lane to give a wide berth to the convoy. My slowing down turned a mistake as a Toyota SUV emerged from the same road where the convoy had earlier emerged. It headed straight to my car. I was petrified as the driver rammed into my Toyota Camry, by the passenger side. The force of the collision immediately severed the side mirror from the body, severely dented and scratched the two doors on its path. I watched in horror as the driver of the SUV reversed the car and joined the cavalcade, leaving me behind to my fate. “He didn’t bother to stop to check the damage his vehicle had done to my own car, whether he had left me or anyone inside it traumatized by his recklessness. He just drove away. “Instinctively, I followed the convoy, which headed to Asokoro area of the city. “At this point, I didn’t know the VIP embedded in the convoy. Initially I thought it was a governor as the car that hit me bore a number plate that starts with RSH. My interest in following the convoy was to lodge a complaint about the murderous driver and get my car repaired. “The convoy drove deep into Asokoro, into TY Danjuma Road and then entered one of the mansions, at the entrance of which were several banners of Atiku-Okowa campaign. I drove into the compound with the convoy as I had my hazard light on like other vehicles in the convoy. My adventure was certainly getting interesting. I, an APC and Tinubu campaigner inside the PDP Atiku-Okowa den.”