Beleaguered by paucity of funds and lingering in-fighting, the presidential campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar has not gotten to a great start yet as reports hint the candidate was still foot-dragging on funding the campaign amid much hold-back by PDP Governors.
Reports indicate that Atiku’s campaign may struggle in the coming days/weeks over inadequate funding of the party’s campaign council.
The New Diplomat had earlier reported the PDP was facing challenges in executing its campaign plans for the 2023 presidential election.
While the reason for the paucity of funds cannot be pinned to one single factor, it was learnt that the intractable crisis between Atiku and the G-5 PDP Governors led by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who had rebelled against his candidacy, might have dampened the morale of the campaign on its own.
Following the crisis rocking the soul of the PDP, Atiku was said to be reluctant to disburse funds due to the experience he got from the last presidential election, the 2019 election, which he lost to President Muhammadu Buhari.
A source who spoke on the condition of anonymity disclosed that though Atiku would later disburse funds for his campaign, he is likely do so towards the end of the campaign.
According to the source, “the presidential candidate wants to start releasing money towards the end of the campaign.
“He is learning from the experience of 2019. He lost that election, but he is probably wiser now. What I can’t say is whether things will pan out differently this time. He has told those close to him that he will release money at the appropriate time.”
Also, another source who spoke with the members of the press said there are some governors in the party, apart from the G-5 governors that are reluctant to spend their resources on Atiku’s Campaign.
One of the governors fingered by the source is Governor Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom State, who is also the chairman of Atiku’s Presidential Campaign Council.
Udom was said to have threatened not to use his resources to fund campaign activities, adding that he might resign from his position in the campaign council if campaign funds are not released.
Udom reportedly confided in some members of his inner circle that he was frustrated by the PDP presidential candidate’s inability to release funds for campaign in the state.
However, the PDP, on Tuesday, in a report described as untrue, that the chairman of its Presidential Campaign Council, Udom Emmanuel, was threatening to quit his role owing to inadequate funds.
Speaking in an interview, the party’s national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, was quoted by The Punch to have described the report as “That is fake news. It is not correct, and it is a creation of some people. Governor Udom Emmanuel, has even refuted it.”
Also, Udom while addressing party supporters at the Nest of Champions Stadium, Uyo, dismissed the story, saying there was no iota of truth in the claim that he was considering resigning his position as Chairman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council.
The reaction by the PDP and Udom followed sources’ claims who had were earlier reported to have said: “At the moment, we are waiting for the candidate to release funds so that the party can start campaigning for him here but if he doesn’t do so, then we would just focus on our National Assembly and state candidates. It is not that the governor does not support him but the fact remains that we are our governorship campaign is our priority at the moment.”
“If you go to the streets of Akwa Ibom and talk to people, you would see that Atiku is not popular among the top presidential contenders. Also, the fact that most of the billboards you see in Uyo are either for our national assembly and state candidates and the presidential candidates of other parties gives you an understanding of what is at stake.”
“For instance, the supporters of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party have sponsoring billboards and pasting posters of him all over the city but that of Atiku are few because funds haven’t been released,” another source disclosed.
