In a bid to nip in the bud the crisis bedevilling the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2023 general election, the loyalists of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, have called for the restructuring of party’s leadership to accommodate more southerners.

The supporters of the governor said the party’s leadership is constituted of Northerners.

Wike’s loyalists stated that the northerners cannot occupy the positions of the Board of Trustees, chairman, the national chairman, and governors’ forum chairman of the party.

They added that any proposed reconciliation between the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Governor Wike must address the party’s leadership issue.

Speaking in an interview with PUNCH on Thursday, a chieftain of the party and former member of the House of Representatives, Ogbonna Nwuke, said: “We cannot have the chairman of Governors Forum in the North, the chairman of the BoT in the North, the Acting Secretary of the BoT in the North, the chairman of the party in the North and the Presidential flag bearer of the party in the North.

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“Where is the fairness in this? Where is the justice in this? Where is the balance in this?

“My leader has said quite clearly that we are moving nowhere. This is maturity in action despite the fact there could be options to choose at this time.

“But above all things, Wike has spoken the truth and all supporters agree with this posture,” the PDP chieftain stated.

Meanwhile, credible sources in the PDP said a meeting was held between Atiku and Wike at the residence of a former Minister of Information and National Orientation, Prof. Jerry Gana, on Thursday.

The development came barely 24 hours after the PDP Board of Trustees set up a reconciliation committee to resolve the crisis rocking the party.

“Atiku and Wike met this (Thursday afternoon) at the residence of Jerry Gana. It was a good meeting, from what I gathered.

“There was an exchange of pleasantries and they have resolved to move the reconciliation to the next stage,” a source disclosed.

The Star