Wike, Ortom, Makinde, missing as PDP Inaugurates presidential campaign council

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) inaugurated its 600-member Presidential Campaign Council for the 2023 general elections on Wednesday in Abuja with the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, conspicuously missing from the event.

Also missing from the forum were the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde.

Makinde and other members of the PDP loyal to Wike had last week announced their withdrawal from the campaign council over the party’s decision to retain Iyorchia Ayu as its national chairman.

Present at the inauguration was the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, and other chieftains of the party.

The Chairman of the council, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, who declared the party’s presidential campaign open, charged members to take the campaign to their wards and units.

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He said: “We are campaigning to win. We must all work. No sitting in Abuja. Everybody will have to go back to carry the message home and make sure you win election for your unit, your ward, your constituency, not by sitting in Abuja. PDP is not an Abuja party.”

In his address, Abubakar berated President Muhammadu Buhari’s government for its poor performance in the last seven years.

He said: “The economy is in shambles, growth stagnated, the educational system is comatose and the people face massive existential challenges daily.

“But all hope is not lost. We have a plan to address these issues and to arrest the drift of our nation.”

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