Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has alleged that the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ayu Iyorchia allegedly collected a sum of N1 billion from one of the party’s presidential aspirants in Lagos.
Wike who made the comment in a media chart at the Government House Port Harcourt, described Ayu as corrupt, adding adding that the PDP National Chairman wants to hang on to the office to push ambition as Secretary to Government of the Federation.
Speaking on Ayu’s compromise in the presidential primary and failure to keep their promise to resign, Wike said, “Nobody forced Ayu that if the candidate comes from the North he will resign. He knows it’s the practice.
“Ayu is very corrupt. He is very corrupt. Will he deny he did not collect N1Bn. He met one of the presidential aspirants in Lagos. Let him deny this then I will say more. I am serious and an important Governor. I challenge him to deny it.”
“The national chairman threatened that if Wike wins that he would resign. He was asking aspirants to resign for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. They held a lot of meetings. Even at the primary that was the reason we started very late. They were putting pressure that aspirants should step down for Atiku.”
“I feel pained that I didn’t get the opportunity to fight insecurity and oil theft. If I were elected, I would have taken up insecurity and oil theft that is affecting the nation”, Wike said.
The Rivers governor also maintained his and allies’ insistence on remaining in the party to force the resignation of Ayu in the interest of fairness and equity, expressing hope that the party, in the end, could do the needful going into next year’s election divided spells doom for PDP.
Reminded on pressures within the party to suspend him for perceived anti-party conduct in his hard stand and romance with opposition can candidates, Wike said, “We cannot allow this opportunity that Nigerians have given to us to go. If we miss it, we will pay dearly. If the party so wish to suspend me they should go ahead. In fact, I dare them to suspend me. They know what I can do.
“Who will suspend me? What do you think is my job here? I’m not saying I’m bigger than the party but those who ran away from the party cannot suspend me from the party. I beg them, today, today, they should come and suspend me. Anything they see, they will take.
“Opposition parties and candidates talking to me is not anti-party. Something must give way for us to move ahead. We are not talking about the removal of Ayu. Resignation is not removal. For political expediency, he should resign to salvage the situation and the party.”
– Vanguard
