Governor Ikpeazu is the next target as PDP plans to crack down on Wike and his allies.
NewsOnline reports that the Dr. Iyorchia Ayu-led National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has concluded plans to crack down on recalcitrant party members aligned with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and his allies.
There are indications that the party leadership may suspend some supporters of the PDP’s five disgruntled governors, known as the G-5.
This comes just hours after the PDP NWC suspended the party’s Ebonyi State Chairman, Okorie Tochukwu Okoroafor, for alleged anti-party activities.
The Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu could be targeted in the next two weeks, a source within the party who spoke with Vanguard revealed.
READ ALSO: Ikonne Death: PDP Fix Date For Fresh Abia Gov Primary
Wike and his G5 colleagues-Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) – have had a running battle with the party leadership since the party’s presidential primary which saw Alhaji Atiku Abubakar defeating Wike, among others, to emerge as the standard bearer.
Over the course of the last week, the party leadership has dissolved the entire Ekiti State Chapter executive and suspended several party loyalists in Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, and Ebonyi who are known acolytes of the G5.
The leadership of the Ekiti Chapter of the party, which was hitherto populated by loyalists of former Governor Ayo Fayose (an associate of the G5 governors), was sent packing penultimate Friday.
One of the sources said, “It is unfortunate that we lost our candidate in Abia State, Prof. Uche Ikonne, who, until his death, was the handpicked successor of Ikpeazu.
“Now, Governor Ikpeazu invited Governor Wike to perform the function of handing over the party flag to Ikonne, a function which ordinarily was reserved for the National Chairman or a party official he assigns to perform such a function on his behalf.
“There will be a governorship primary and it is only the National Chairman and Secretary that can write INEC, it is the Ayu-led NWC that has the constitutional responsibility to conduct this primary.
“Ikpeazu will be fighting the political battle of his life to handpick another successor because there are many interests within and outside Abia now at play.
“The party leadership bent over backward to accommodate his interests, and gave him all the support but what did we get in return?
“Like it or not, the party leadership and our presidential candidate and his team will be interested in who becomes the candidate because the party’s overall interest is at stake. The next couple of weeks will be interesting.”
