Tunde Sulaiman with agency reports 
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, is presently in London ostensibly in another attempt to resolve his rift with Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, New Telegraph has reliably learnt. Sources close to the former vice-president said Abubakar, who “flew out on a business trip on Monday night” is billed to meet with Wike today.
“The PDP presidential candidate headed to London yesterday after arriving in Paris on Tuesday. He is billed to meet with Wike in an attempt to resolve the issues between them,” a source said. It is believed that a faceto- face meeting between the two men might go a long way in breaking the ice in their relationship.
New Telegraph also learnt that in spite of Wike’s public spat with the former vice president, Atiku was unlikely to call the bluff of the Rivers governor any time soon because of political expediency. “Although what he (Wike) is doing is not in the best interest of Atiku or the party, we will not close the door on trying to placate him because in politics anything is possible,” said a source, who hinted that they were still hoping that an amicable settlement can still be reached between the two men. It was also learnt that associates close to the PDP presidential candidate are not happy with the way in which Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa State, and Babangida Aliyu, former governor of Niger State, have criticised Wike and they want Abubakar to call them to order, another insider said. In an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday, Lamido said: “We should forget about Wike.” “Wike is an individual, I don’t think because he is a governor there he has control and monopoly over the peoples of Rivers,” the former Jigawa governor had said.
Abubakar’s fresh move to resolve the issues between him and Wike came a day after Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), met with the Rivers governor in Paris, France. Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue; Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, and other PDP stalwarts loyal to the Rivers governor also attended the meeting. The PDP has been in turmoil since it held its presidential primary election in May. Atiku clinched the party’s ticket after the dramatic withdrawal of Tambuwal from the race. Tambuwal had asked his supporters to support the former vicepresident.
The crisis in the party escalated after Atiku chose Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate. Party stakeholders had expressed concerns that Atiku ignored Wike — who was said to have been preferred by a majority of the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) members as the candidate for the position. Intermediaries of both men met some time ago but they were not able to broker a truce.
