PDP Managing ‘Turbulence’ Created By Atiku’s Choice Of Okowa – Ologbondiyan

Ologbondiyan, however, stated that the party’s leadership will manage the situation to avoid it from escalating.

The PDP chieftain spoke during ‘The Morning Show’ on Arise TV on Friday.

“The party is experiencing turbulence as we speak presently, however, the managers, drivers, and captains of the party have an understanding of the best move to take in order to take us out of the current turbulence,” he said.

THE WHISTLER recalls that the fresh PDP crisis ballooned after Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, accused Atiku on TV of “injustice” against Governor Nyesom Wike over the PDP presidential candidate’s failure to pick the Rivers governor as his running mate.

The Benue governor said Atiku went against the collective wish of the party’s leadership by picking Okowa over Wike as his running mate.

Similarly, former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, accused Atiku of staging a “one-man show” by overruling the party’s leadership over his choice of Okowa instead of Wike.

But Ologbondiyan, while speaking on the TV programme, said Atiku was “confronted with the challenge of choice” because Governor Wike of Rivers, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, and Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, all of whom were shortlisted for the number two job, are qualified.

He said, “I quite accept that there was a decision to be taken, whether taken rightly or taken wrongly, a decision has been taken.

“As Governor Ortom (of Benue State) said on another platform last night, what is left is the management but the decision has been taken.

“Three vice-presidential nominees presented to the candidate are eminently qualified to occupy the office of Mr. vice president, however, I normally tell people that in our own political party, the Peoples Democratic Party, we will always encounter the challenge of choice when it comes to decision making because the people that have been lined up to be decided upon are eminently qualified and are resourceful persons. Governor Wike (of Rivers State) is known as ‘Mr. Projects’. In terms of infrastructural developments, he has done well. He has been chairman, he has been chief of staff, he has been a minister and he has been governor going for eight years, he is eminently qualified.

“Governor Okowa (of Delta State) has also been in the local government, he has been Secretary to the State Government, he has been a state commissioner, he has been a Senator as the chairman committee on health in the Senate, he demonstrated capacity and you can see the number of medical centers that were built under his administration.

“If you go to Governor Udom (of Akwa Ibom State), he is a modern developer who understands wealth creation. So, when you have such men before you to decide upon, you must definitely be confronted with the challenge of choice. But having said this, a decision has been made and the party’s decisions expectedly are supreme.

“However, we cannot say those who will have some forms of complaints or issues with the way the decision is being managed after being taken should not complain. And like I said earlier, we are going through the turbulence of managing a decision that has been taken.”