Wike Exposes Ayu’s Scheming During PDP’s Presidential Primary
*Says Advised To Pick Senate Ticket At A Point
THERE seems to be no end in the crisis to the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, who has been at loggerheads with the leadership of the party since Alhaji Atiku Abubakar emerged as its flagbearer, continued to expose more scheming and dealings by the embattled National Chairman of the party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, who his group insists must resign for peace and equity to reign.
In a media chat with journalists in Port-Harcourt, Wike recalled some of the underground politics that played out during and after the party’s convention, disclosing that at a point after losing the party’s presidential ticket, some notable politicians advised him to pick the ticket to the senate, which he rejected, recalling: “I said no, I won’t do that. I have already made a commitment that this senate should be zoned to this area, because they have never had it before,” adding that he refused to make decisions that will affect the overall interest of the party, despite the crisis at the national level, which he claimed was fomented by Atiku, Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal and Ayu, insisting that Ayu must step down and give room to equity and fairness in the party.
When asked if his actions since the primaries does not portray him as a bad loser, he replied: “I never collected senatorial form; other candidates did and that is how you know those who are serious and those who are unserious. I didn’t contest for the presidential ticket because I wanted to settle for the position of vice president.
“Imagine a national chairman, Ayu, went ahead to describe Tambuwal as hero of the convention. You heard what Jang said, he described Ayu as a referee who helped one of the sides to score a goal and then blew a whistle that a goal had been scored.”
Wike also accused Ayu of working against his emergence as presidential candidate of the party, adding: “There’s nothing Ayu did not do for me not to emerge as the PDP candidate. Ayu did everything to manipulate the system to ensure that all the numbers did not add up,” alleging that he called many presidential aspirants, including Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed, Tambuwal and former senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki, to withdraw for Atiku, who eventually picked the ticket.
Ayu, he further alleged, also threatened to resign as chairman if he emerged the candidate, restating that he manipulated the process for the victory of Atiku, even as he revealed that Ayu is eying the position of Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) should the party win next year’s presidential election, which could be why he is clinging to the chairmanship position and his insistence not to resign from office until Atiku win the election.
He stated: “If Nigerians hear a lot of things going on now in the party that wants to take over the reign of power, they will shake their heads. You see, when we talked about Ayu, it seems people don’t know what is involved. Ayu wants to be in power, so that he will be there and if we (PDP) win (presidential election), he wants the Secretary to the Government of the Federation position. You know these positions have been shared and then they are talking to ‘small boys’ like us to play along like we don’t know what is going on.
“I can tell you that because most of you don’t know what is going in the party. Somebody has been given the senate president position. And do you think I will sit here on national television to tell you things I don’t know? It is just because of confidentiality and certain things that we cannot say them here.”
The governor said though no one was above the party, those who left the party at the height of its crisis in 2014/2015 cannot suspend him.
On his possible suspension for anti-party activities, Wike thundered: “Who will suspend me? The party? Which party? PDP? No problem. Look at the wahala (problem) you (PDP) are already carrying. They (PDP) can go ahead.
“I am not saying I am bigger than the party, but those who ran away from the party cannot suspend me from the party. I beg them (PDP) today and they shouldn’t waste time to say the Governor of Rivers State, you are hereby suspended from the party. Then, anything you see, you take! They (PDP members) know what I can do.”
“What I am saying is that if we misused this opportunity Nigerians are giving us, we will pay dearly for it. For me, everything must be done to make sure the right is done for us to get the support of Nigeria. But if we continue this way, we are going for a shocker, and that I can tell you.”
He said the crisis in the main opposition party was more than what was being reported in the media and for the sake of peace, he won’t divulge critical information to the public, saying: “I believed justice, fairness and equity should be allowed for our party to progress. That is when our party can stand as a party that wants to take over the reign of affairs of this country.
“Nigerians should even thank us that we are pushing our party to let the world not think that some of the people (PDP members) behaving around are the people to lead them, but to know that there are people who still believe in equity, justice and fairness in the PDP.”
He reiterated his earlier position not to defect to any other party, but ensure that justice was done and the chairmanship position moved to the South, noting: “If I want power or want to be in power, I would have gone ahead to take the senatorial ticket. But I said no. That is a man who believes in equity, fairness and justice. So, the analysis does not rhyme at all.”
He alleged that Ayu took money from a presidential candidate in Lagos State and challenged him to deny the claims, saying he has evidence. But he declined to name the aspirant Ayu collected the money from.
Apparently pained over his inability to clinch his party’s ticket, Wike said the money Ayu collected was not remitted into PDP‘s account, noting: “Will he deny the fact that he did not collect N1billion from Lagos? Yes, let him deny it, I will tell him who gave him the money. Not Lagos State Government, but someone in Lagos. The money was given to him in Lagos. He met one of the presidential aspirants and told him he was not sure state governors would want to sponsor the party.
“Let Ayu say no, I will even call some of the businessmen and how the money was arranged in Lagos. That money did not enter the account of PDP. But we are not attacking Ayu on that basis.”
He stated that he has a good relationship with the party; hence he is making ensuring that candidates that emerged in his state win in elections.
Still on the call for Ayu to resign, the governor said the issue is clearly provided in the party’s constitution that there shall be zoning of offices and elective offices, explaining: “It is made clear and what should be and what should be done. People in the system now manipulate things and would not let the public know the truth.”
He recalled howAtiku and Saraki worked against former President Goodluck Jonathan, leading to his eventual loss of the 2015 presidential election, saying Jonathan’s pleas for them to rescind their decision to leave the party in 2014 fell on deaf ears, and that Tambuwal was among that humiliated Jonathan after the 2014 convention by insisting that it was the turn of the North.
“People should not forget history. In 2013 and 2014, there was an issue of the presidential candidate. Jonathan emerged. Atiku and others worked out of the convention. Tambuwal and former Saraki, all worked out.
“Jonathan did everything to talk to them, but they rebuffed him as a sitting President. He travelled to London to see Atiku, but he rebuffed him. Former Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu, admitted that they all agreed to work against Jonathan.
“We are not like them, when in 2014 they walked out from Eagles Square and joined APC, did they remain to fight inside the party? They ran away, but we will remain. Now there is a fight in the party, we will not run; we will fight it in this party. Those who run away from fight are weak people. But we will not.
“So, everybody should know, this is the state where we are, so nobody should tell you stories.”
He revealed that some ex-military Generals and other PDP members met on the night of the party’s presidential primary and special convention to prevent his emergence as the party’s presidential candidate, adding that part of the meetings was held in homes of ex-Generals on the night of the convention in a bid to prevent his emergency, which caused the delay in the commencement of the convention on the day of PDP primary.
Wike lambasted Ayu for his role in the convention: “A whole national chairman told some aspirants that if Wike wins, that he was going to resign. As chairman of the convention, he allowed Tambuwal to speak a second time. Look, integrity matters. And after everything, he went and hugged Tambuwal, that he was the hero of the convention.
“Meetings upon meetings were going. Pressures were being mounted on people to step down. Even on the night of the convention, meetings were going on. That is why we started our convention late. Some of the retired Generals were involved. Some of the meetings were held in their houses. There is nothing they didn’t do for me to step down.
“Those who know me know that I would have stopped the convention, even if heaven falls. But I said for peace to reign, let the convention go on. Now a candidate has emerged, and we need to win elections as a party. That is the ultimate, winning election.
“But the right things must be done. It was agreed and it has been the practice of the party that if the candidate comes from the North, the national chairman should come from the South. The candidate (Atiku) knows all these. He even said it to me when he came to my house in Abuja.
“I’m not saying PDP cannot do without me; I’m saying they cannot do without me in Rivers. PDP cannot win Rivers without me.”
On Atiku’s choice of running mate, Wike explained that he was aware of the underground moves of the Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to become the vice presidential candidate of the PDP, but that he expected good sense to prevail in the party.
“That he (Atiku) was going to run with Okowa, that Okowa supported him, we were all aware; it is not that we didn’t see. The problem with some of our leaders is that there are so many rent-seekers around them. They (rent-seekers) have not been in power for years. So, they are all looking for how to bounce back. They are people who have no value to add.
“The chairman must either remain in South or go to the North. Luckily, the party set up a committee for zoning. In that committee, the Governor of Enugu State was the Chairman, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State was the Deputy Chairman. Some people will always think that they are too clever. They came up with zoning only the party offices, don’t zone the elective offices. How can you only zone party offices? You won’t zone elective offices?
“Some people believe they are too intelligent than others. Some of us say, look, that this at the end of the day will cause crisis for us.”
