Okowa, Ortom meet as PDP moves to close ranks ahead of 2023 elections

The Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, on Friday met with his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom, in Abuja.

The meeting was part of ongoing efforts by PDP to resolve the crisis that trailed the emergence of Okowa as its vice-presidential candidate for next year’s election.

The disagreement over the choice of the Delta State governor as the running mate to the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has split the party into two groups with a faction backing the River State Governor, Nyesom Wike, for the role demanding the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, over his role in the saga.

Ortom, who featured in a Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, earlier this month, said he supported Wike to be the party’s vice presidential candidate for the 2023 elections.

He also revealed that his Rivers counterpart was the choice of a committee put together by PDP to pick a running mate for Atiku.

He added that 14 out of 17 members of the committee chose Wike because of his endearing qualities.

Ortom, however, expressed disappointment that Wike was not consulted by Atiku before he announced Okowa as his running mate.

READ ALSO: PDP to win 2023 elections convincingly – Ortom

The PDP presidential candidate had since countered the governor’s claim in an interview on Arise TV.

In Friday’s meeting held at the Benue State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, Okowa insisted that the party would go into the elections as one cohesive unit.

He said the dispute would be resolved in the ongoing reconciliation process put together by the party leaders to address issues arising from the presidential primaries and his subsequent selection as the vice-presidential candidate.

The governor described Wike as a steadfast party member who had put in a lot of effort to make the PDP successful.

In his remarks, Ortom said the PDP leaders are still working out a solution for the crisis in the party.

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