Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Thursday, slammed the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), 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 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.
“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.”
He also said the N14bn PDP realised from the sale of forms for the party’s primaries last May must be judiciously used.
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 in October said he would vacate the chairmanship seat if the region produces the PDP presidential candidate. But on Wednesday, he 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. CHANNELS TV
