Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday, berated the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Iyorchia Ayu, for failing to deliver his state, Benue, for the PDP.
There has been no love lost between Wike and Ayu since the former demanded the resignation of the latter from his position in the spirit of fairness and equity in the party.
In the build-up to the February 25 presidential election, Wike’s G-5 failed to back the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, insisting that the North could not have in its custody both the presidential candidate and the chairman of the party, leaving the Southern zone as onlookers in the scheme of things in the party.
Speaking during a media chat in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, Wike said Ayu could not even win his polling unit for the PDP.
“What can the National Chairman tell me now when he could not deliver his state? He could not deliver his polling unit,” he said
“A small circle of people, you can’t control them. You lost and you say you are the National Chairman. If you have lost it in our states, it is the states that will make the ‘national’ thick. Without the state, you can’t be strong,” he added.
Besides Wike, other members of the aggrieved PDP governors include Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).
After Ayu took over the leadership of PDP in October 2021, the party was hopeful that the former Senate President would lead the main opposition party to victory in the 2023 general polls. But he failed to deliver as the party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, only got 12 states.
Of the 12 states where Atiku raked in 6,984,520 votes, Benue was, however, not among the majority of the people who voted for Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Tinubu who polled 8,794,726 votes came out tops in 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states and secured significant numbers in several other states to emerge as President-elect.
During the interview, Wike denied working against the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi in the 25 February presidential poll.
Obi, who, in less than a year, galvanised young voters in a manner some have described as unprecedented, finished the race with 6,101,533.
Following Obi’s loss to Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Nigerian youths have accused Wike of betraying the former Anambra State Governor.
But the governor said it was unfortunate that Obi claimed he stood against him during last month’s presidential election, describing the LP candidate as being ungrateful.
