Nyesome Wike, governor of Rivers, says it is against the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the national chairman and presidential candidate to come from the same region.
Wike spoke on Thursday at the inauguration of a campus of the Rivers State University in Ahoada east LGA of the state.
The opposition party has been in crisis since May when former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar became the PDP presidential candidate.
Party stakeholders expressed concern that Wike was overlooked for Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, who Abubakar chose as his running mate.
Wike had demanded that Iyorchia Ayu, PDP national chairman, should step down as a precondition for resolving the crisis. But Ayu has since dismissed the call.
Following concerns that the north is dominating the affairs of the party, Walid Jibrin, chairman of PDP board of trustees BoT, resigned earlier on Thursday.
But the Rivers governor said Jibrin’s resignation is not the issue the party should focus on.
“They said Jibrin should resign. Who is talking about that? Do you want me to accept that the candidate and the chairman should come from the same place? I asked them to tell me the truth and they said no,” the governor said.
“I don’t like people when you are talking they will say ‘interest of Nigerians’. Who defines the interest of Nigerians, you?
“You that refused to obey the constitution of their party, are you speaking in the interest of Nigerians?”
PDP NEC passes vote of confidence in Ayu
The national executive committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has passed a vote of confidence in the national working committee (NWC) of the party.
Ndudi Elumelu, minority leader of the house of representatives, moved the motion at the NEC meeting on Thursday.
The motion, which was seconded by Ishola Balogun-Fulani, a party member from Kwara state, was put to a voice vote by Adolphus Wabara the acting chairman of the party’s board of trustees (BoT).
The development comes amid the calls for Iyorchia Ayu, national chairman of the party, to resign from his position.
Speaking at the meeting, Elumelu commended Ayu and members of the NWC for working to ensure that the PDP wins the Osun governorship election.
“Osun was impossible, but God, through you people, made it possible,” he said.
The lawmaker said the opposition party has the solution to the “suffering”, of Nigeria, and urged members to be united.
“We must learn to forgive one another. All of us cannot be chairman, presidential candidate, but together, we can lead. If only we can be patient, we can lead,” he said.
“National cake of Aso Villa is too much for all Nigerians. And this cake means creating the necessary infrastructure for Nigerians, not making fake promises like APC.
“A lot has gone wrong. Let’s put behind the anger and move forward. It is the devil that is trying to stop us from winning because they know, in the spiritual realm, we have won. We can never be distracted. We must talk to our people to collect their PVCs.
“On behalf of my colleagues, we have decided, because the NWC has tremendously performed. Our governors are proud; forget what you are reading. They are united. I believe they will deliver their states for PDP come 2023.”
peaking after the confidence vote was passed on the NWC, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the party, said the PDP will resolve its crisis and win the 2023 elections.
“Family disagreements are normal. We are determined to resolve those internal disagreements. Disagreement should be removed within the party’s constitution and the rules guiding the party,” he said.
On his part, Wabara urged members to stay united and mind their utterances.
“The PDP has an inbuilt mechanism to solve problems. We have done it several times. When people expect us to implode, that is when we become very glorious,” he said
“I want to advise us that we should always debrief ourselves in-house, no matter what the anger is. Let us debrief ourselves in-house rather than playing to the gallery.
“We should watch and control our utterances because by and large, only God knows tomorrow. Let us emulate our leader, because once you voice out something, it is always difficult for you to pick back what you voice out.
CREDIT- The Cable
