The chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu, has proclaimed Governor Aminu Tambuwal as the hero of the party’s national convention.

“You are the hero of the convention, thank you,” Mr Ayu said during a visit to Mr Tambuwal at Sokoto Governor’s Lodge in Abuja on Sunday. A video of the meeting was posted online, and it showed Mr Tambuwal welcoming Mr Ayu, Sule Lamido and other PDP politicians on the visit.

This followed the Sokoto State governor’s withdrawal from the presidential race during the party’s convention held on Saturday in Abuja.

As delegates were about to commence voting, Mr Tambuwal withdrew from the presidential race, giving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar an edge over his major contender, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

While making the formal announcement, the governor had pledged his support for Mr Abubakar and urged the delegates to vote for the former vice president, who soon emerged as the party’s flag bearer with 371 votes from the 767 delegates accredited for the convention.

“I have appealed to my supporters to take this in good strides and for national unity and patriotism – not only that, those who are delegates here – should vote for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,” Mr Tambuwal had said.

Mr Tambuwal’s last-minute decision was seen as a betrayal and conspiracy against Governor Nyesom Wike. Mr Wike, who came second at the convention, had in 2018 supported Mr Tambuwal against Mr Abubakar during the party’s primaries.

Although Mr Wike had promised to support whoever emerged as the party’s candidate, sources close to him said he may distance himself from Mr Abubakar’s campaign if it became clear that there was a premeditated conspiracy to deny him the ticket.

A spokesman for Mr Wike could not be reached comments Sunday night, but his supporters said Mr Ayu’s partisan comments could shatter the widespread conclusion of neutrality previously held about the convention, which has been touted as free and fair. 

A spokesman for Mr Ayu said the politician did not intend to mock Mr Wike but only to commend Mr Tambuwal for allowing the exercise to go smoothly with his timely decision to back Mr Abubakar.