The reconciliation meeting between the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2023 elections in Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, and the Rivers State Governor, Nyeson Wike, has ended in a deadlock.
Recall that Abubakar flew out of Nigeria to meet Wike in London, United Kingdom on Thursday over their differences.
A photograph of the meeting went viral shortly after it ended.
The Eagle Online also recalls that Abubakar and Wike fell out after the former Vice President won the ticket of the PDP for the 2023 elections.
The fall out further deepened after Abubakar chose the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, as his vice presidential candidate over Wike and justified it.
At the meeting on Thursday in the United Kingdom, The Eagle Online was told that the major point of departure for the two political gladiators was the retention of Senator Iyorcha Ayu as the National Chairman of the PDP.
There have been several calls for the resignation of Ayu as the PDP National Chairman.
This has been largely based on the fact that the North, where Abubakar and Ayu hail from, cannot have both the presidential candidate and National Chairman at the same time.
For Wike’s camp, in addition to the above has been allegation that Ayu favoured Abubakar in the countdown to the primaries.
They also accused him of breaching protocol at the venue of the primaries at Eagle Square in Abuja by allowing the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, to return to the podium to announce he was stepping down for Abubakar after he had reeled out his manifesto and solicited for the votes of delegates.
The Eagle Online was reliably informed that both men stood their grounds at the reconciliation meeting on Thursday, leading to them unable to conclude.
Wike has become the darling of opposition parties in recent times.
Both the All Progressives Congress and Labour Party are wooing him.
He was in a meeting with the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, earlier in the week.
At the meeting, also held in the United Kingdom, Wike had with him the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde.
For Tinubu, the Lagos and Ekiti States Governors, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Dr. Kayode Fayemi, were on his side.
Also shortly before the meeting with Abubakar, Wike was at a meeting attended by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.