Fresh facts emerged yesterday that the clash between Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike, forced the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to shift its National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting from yesterday to today.
The two governors who are currently at loggerheads with each other, are of the same party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Vanguard gathered that a day difference in date of NEC is to enable party leaders, stakeholders and National Caucus use the whole of yesterday to intervene in the matter, with a view to calming the nerves of the aggrieved governors and their supporters.The postponement is also to enable them be on the same page to avoid a rancorous meeting where there would be shouting and calling of names without any meaningful thing achieved at the meeting.
According to the sources, also drawn into the troubleshooting meeting are the principal officers of both the Senate and the House of Representatives and some very high ranking members of the National Assembly who will join other members of the national caucus to ask both governors to, in the interest of the party, sheathe the sword.
It was also gathered that other governors of the PDP would be asked to come up with meaningful contributions to the growth and development of the party, to stave off a situation where one person is fully involved in funding the party.
The source said: “The National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting was shifted from Tuesday (yesterday) to Wednesday (today) because of the feud between Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and his Rivers State Counterpart, Nyesom Wike, to enable them and everyone be on the same page.
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”It is also good for other governors of the PDP to come forward with funding to ensure that only one governor does not spend much and tries to hijack the party. This shifting of date of NEC meeting is to enable all the governors be on the same page.”
Recall that Governor Obaseki of Edo State and Governor Nyesom Wike, both of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP are currently at daggers draw over purported verbal attacks on the deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, by the latter for threatening to quit the party if their supporters were not integrated fully into the PDP.
The two PDP governors are ‘fighting because of a comment made by Shaibu, suggesting that many supporters of Obaseki who defected with the governor from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the PDP are not happy and did not feel accepted into the new party.
Shaibu had asked the national leadership of the PDP to “integrate” his supporters and those of Governor Obaseki into the party, threatening that there are possibilities of an exodus.
The statement of the deputy governor did not go down well with Governor Wike who consequently lampooned Shaibu, calling him an ingrate.
Wike had also asked the National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, to constitute a disciplinary committee against the deputy governor of Edo State, warning that if this was not done, he (Wike) would invoke sanctions of the party against the deputy governor.
The PDP had earlier fixed its NEC and Board of Trustees meeting for yesterday
