Ahead of the Osun State Governorship Election scheduled for July 16 and the 2023 general elections coming up in eight months’ time, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is enmeshed in fresh crisis over the choice of Delta state Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as running mate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate.
Governor Okowa was announced Atiku’s running mate June 16.
The announcement came 24 hours after the Advisory Committee tasked with the responsibility of coming up with Atiku’s running mate voted in favour of Rivers state Governor Nyesom Wike.
Consequently, many of the party stakeholders, especially governors sympathetic to Wike’s plight, were shunning the party’s affairs.
It is also on record that the PDP announced the names of the Ekiti State Governorship Campaign Council, but failed to inaugurate and didn’t campaign in the state.
Thus, they lost and came distant 3rd.
On Wednesday, 11 out of the 13 governors elected on the PDP platform shunned the inauguration of the Osun state’s 128- member National Campaign Council.
PDP had, Monday, announced all the governors as members of the campaign council.
However, at the inauguration Wednesday, only the governor of Delta state, and Taraba state Governor Darius Ishaku attended the ceremony in Abuja.
More shocking was the absence of the only PDP governor in South West, Seyi Makinde of Oyo state and chairman of the campaign council, Bayelsa state Governor Douye Diri stayed away without any explanation.
Other governors absent include: Governor Wike, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of , Enugu, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Godwin Obaseki of Edo, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa, and Bauchi state Governor Bala Mohammed.
It was gathered that the governors’ attitude towards the party was not unconnected with their misgivings about how and who Atiku picked as running mate.