Atiku says he is no longer bothered about the Wike group as he has moved on from them

FORMER vice president and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidates Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said he is no longer bothered about the leadership crisis involving Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and his group as they will move on without them.

In late June, the PDP elected Alhaji Abubakar as its flagbearer for next year's presidential election at its annual convention which held in Abuja. Governor Wike was a candidate in that election but he was beaten into second place and to make matters worse for him, he was not then picked as the party's running mate.

With Alhaji Abubakar opting to pick Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate, Governor Wike has been on the war path and there are fears that he will dump the PDP. One of the key demands of the Wike camp has been that PDP chairman Senator Iyorchia Ayu stands down, as he, like Alhaji Abubakar is from northern Nigeria and for the sake of unity, it was argued that a southerner should replace him.

Despite several meetings between the Atiku and Wike camps to resolve the impasse, the matter has not been sorted out and Senator Ayu remains in office. Governor Wike and four of his colleagues known as the G5, made up of Seyi Makinde  (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) boycotted the launch of Atiku's campaign.

With talks to resolve the matter apparently going nowhere, Alhaji Abubakar said he is no longer bothered about the matter. Speaking on the matter in an interview with Voice of America's Hausa Service, Alhaji Abubakar said he has moved on, as a leadership change is currently impossible in the party.

Alhaji Abubakar added: “We are yet to resolve the matter but we have moved on and I don’t have any worries about that anymore. At this junction, it’s improper to talk about leadership change in the party while elections are fast approaching.”