Wike Slams Ayu, Says “We brought you from gutters”
Nyesom Wike, Rivers State governor, on Thursday, slammed the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Iyorchia Ayu, for showing “ingratitude” and “arrogance” after he was assisted to get the seat of the national chairmanship of the party.
“These children you said we are, brought you from nothing,” the governor said during the commissioning of Omerelu Internal roads in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.
Wike challenged Ayu to show himself as a man of honour and integrity by fulfilling his promise that he would vacate the chairmanship seat if the northern region produces the presidential candidate of the party.
The party’s strongman said, “Somebody said those of you who said the right thing must be done are boys, they are children. You can imagine what power can do. You can imagine how ingratitude, how people can be ingrates.
“I thought as a chairman of a party who wants to win the election, your business is to bring peace to the party; your business is not to divide your party, your business is not to show arrogance.
“Dr Ayu said we are children. Yes, the children brought you to be chairman of the party, the children brought you from the gutter to make you chairman.
“Ayu, you were impeached as Senate President, Ayu you were sacked by (former President Olusegun) Obasanjo in his administration two times. Arrogance cannot take you anywhere.”
Wike said Ayu does not have the party’s interest but rather was only concerned with spending the N14 billion proceed realized from the 2022 primaries conducted across the country, to his benefit.
The Rivers governor stressed that the chairman’s aim was basically to ensure a large share of the funds in PDP’s coffers were diverted into his private account and not to bring progress to PDP particularly, reclaiming all elective public offices in other parties, describing Ayu as a prodigal father that cannot be trusted with any important task.
He warned that PDP may suffer major setbacks during next year’s general election should the party allow Ayu to continue administering the party’s affairs across the country.
The governor stressed that his grievances against the PDP national chairman were not personal but in the interest of the hundreds of members that have been allegedly marginalized by Ayu’s leadership style since his assumption of office.
His comment is the latest in the calls for Ayu to quit the party’s chairmanship after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar (from Adamawa State) emerged as the presidential candidate of the PDP in May.
Ayu, who hails from Benue State in northern Nigeria, had last October said he would vacate the chairmanship seat but on Wednesday said he won’t resign.
Earlier, the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Walid Jibrin, and a northerner from Nasarawa State agreed that it is unfair for the party to have its presidential candidate and national chairman from the same region.
