Amid the internal wrangling rocking the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, one of its leaders Dele Momodu has asked Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike and the party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to swallow their pride and end protracted squabbles in the interest of the party. 

“Months after we concluded our Presidential primary, we are still busy fighting and calling ourselves unprintable names, thus forgetting that once upon a time, we were friends, with shared dreams and aspirations,” Mr Momodu wrote in a letter to the party leaders on Monday. “Now, that we’ve narrowed the principal actors to our National Chairman, Governor Nyesom Wike, and our Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, I wish to appeal once again to them to urgently rise above this war of attrition for the sake of long-suffering Nigerians who need our attention desperately.”

The political stalwarts have clashed repeatedly following as part of a fallout from the opposition party presidential primaries held in May 2022 in Abuja. 

The fight between Mr Wike and the party’s presidential candidate, Mr Abubakar had further escalated after the latter picked Governor Ifeayin Okowa of Delta as his running mate.

Mr Wike, who came second, during the primaries, had wanted the running mate slot but his hope was further dashed by the party’ leadership headed by Iyorchia Ayu. 

The Rivers governor had also repeatedly asked Mr Ayu to resign his position in the interest of peace in the party. He accused the party chairman of bias working against the party’s interest, a fissure that emerged after Peoples Gazette ran a story about Mr Ayu’s apparent partisanship during the party’s national primary, which Mr Wike said was unfair.

In his letter, Mr Momodu said Messrs Wike, Abubakar and Ayu should think about winning the 2023 elections rather than the infighting, appealing to the leaders to avoid making inflammatory statements that may further escalate the crisis and prevent the PDP from returning to power in next year’s election. 

“Truth is, we can, and should, defeat APC spectacularly in the next election and hopefully form a Government of National Unity in 2023, as suggested by our candidate. Let’s not destroy this opportunity with our own . 

“Nigerians are waiting to see the practical presentations and demonstrations of our manifesto. Majority of the other candidates and members of their parties were at different times members of our party PDP. For every finger they point at us, four others will point back at them.” Mr Momodu said. 

He, however, added that the time has come for the party to retake the victory by putting its house together to win the 2023 general elections.