BREAKING: Obasanjo, Wike, Obi, others meet in London

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Thursday, met with the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi; and the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, in London.

Although details of the meeting were still sketchy as of the time of filing this report, The PUNCH learnt that it was part of negotiations ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

Wike attended the meeting with his allies including Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State; Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, among others.

Our correspondent gathered that a meeting between Wike and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, will also hold in London later today.

Before today’s meeting in London, The PUNCH reports that there are increasing fears in the PDP that the crisis between Atiku and Wike may affect its chances in the 2023 presidential elections.

The party leaders, who spoke to The PUNCH, in separate interviews on Wednesday, expressed concern about the growing relationship between Wike and influential members of the All Progressives Congress, describing the development as worrisome.

The party’s top members specifically expressed concern over the meeting Wike and two other PDP governors held with the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in London on Monday.

The party elders are apprehensive that the activities of Wike and the governors of Oyo and Benue states, Seyi Makinde and Samuel Ortom, may negatively affect the PDP’s chances in the 2023 presidential election.

The PUNCH gathered that the Tuesday meeting between Wike and Tinubu in the UK dominated discourse among the PDP hierarchy on Wednesday.

The National Working Committee of the party met with PDP governorship candidates across the 36 states of the federation at its Wadata Plaza headquarters in Wuse, Abuja, on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by all PDP governorship candidates except the Oyo State governor, who is currently out of the country.