Ayu doesn’t want PDP to win election, we will help him actualise that dream: Wike

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party showed no sign of abating on Thursday as Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike pledged to ‘help’ actualise a loss for the party in the 2023 elections.

Mr Wike was firing back the national of the party Iyorchia Ayu, saying the latter’s arrogance means he is not interested in winning the 2023 general election.

“Now we have seen that you don’t want the party to win the election, we’ll help you. These children you say we are, these boys we are that brought you from nothing, nothing! I say from nothing, we brought you. Ayu, you say you founded this party but you left the party, you left the party in 2007. You founded a company, you left the company, people stood and brought out the company to what it is today. You have no moral right to still come and claim that you founded that party,” Mr Wike said during his address at the commissioning of an internal road project in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers state. 

The Rivers governor has been railing against top echelon of the party since he lost the presidential ticket and was bypassed for the vice presidential slot by the flag bearer Atiku Abubakar..

He has since demanded the resignation of Mr Ayu as a precondition for reconciliation in the party in order to balance regional lopsidedness of top positions.

In response, Mr Ayu dismissed Mr Wike’s comment, insisting on completing his four year term. 

“I didn’t commit any offense I’m only reforming the party so I’m not bothered with all the noises. I know I’m doing my work and I didn’t steal any money so I see no reason for all these talks,” Mr Ayu had offered during an interview with the BBC Hausa. “When we started PDP, these children were not around. They are children who do not know why we formed the party. We will not allow any individual to destabilise our party.”

Mr Wike described the statement has arrogant boasting of his contributions towards securing the chairmanship of the party for him. 

“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 the 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,” he said.