…. Ayu eyeing disbursement of N14b party funds
…Pocketed money for his for posters
…… Ayu must go now – George
By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wilke has disclosed that the embattled National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is reluctant to respect earlier agreement and vacate his position for a Southerner because he is eyeing the disbursement of the N14billion generated by the party ahead of the general election.
The governor lamented that the chairman suddenly became power drunk and an ingrate, pointing out that the chairman was impeached as former Speaker of the House of Representative and sacked as a Minister because of his arrogance.
Wike while speaking on Thursday in Port Harcourt during the commissioning of a road project at Omerelu in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, conducted Chief Bode George, described the National Chairman as “a greedy man who was only after his own interest.”
Ayu had in an interview he granted to BBC Hausa described Wike and those calling for his resignation as children who didn’t know when the party was formed.
“I have not violated any rules; in fact, I am working to bring reforms to the party. I am truly not bothered about the unnecessary controversy being generated. When we started PDP, these children were not around. They are children who do not know why we formed the party. We will not allow any individual to destabilize our party.”
Reacting to the development, Ayu said, “Ayu said we are children, yet the Children brought you to the party. The Children brought you from the gutter to make you National Chairman of the PDP.
“Ayu, you were impeached as Senate President, Ayu you were sacked by Obasanjo’s administration. Arrogance cannot take you anywhere. Now we have seen that you don’t want the party to win election, we will help you.
“Ayu, you were sleeping in your house. You were calling me per minutes, per minutes thanking me. So you said am a boy, Seyi Makinde is a boy, Ortom your brother who signed on your behalf is a boy. Enugu is a boy, and Abia is a boy. Just because you are Chairman all of us are now boys. These boys brought you from nothing, from nothing we brought.
“You are referring to the people who salvaged the party as children because of 14 billion in the party’s account. It will finish.
“I have never seen a man who want to lead his party to victory, and instead of him to go down and apologize to people, he is arrogantly telling us that we are children. A man who is inconsistent and ran away from the party, telling those of us who spent our time, sleepless night and made sure that the party did not go down that we are children.
“Now Nigerians have seen how ungrateful some of you can be. Now that you have shown arrogance; before you were elected, where did you campaign? Show me your posters in Rivers state, even though we gave you money to go and do posters you kept it in your pocket.
“You think you are too smart? You think you can use us? No problem, Nigerians are watching. We are not afraid of fight, when fight come we will fight and we will win.
“Because of money we made from the party primaries, about 14 billion that is why he is saying, I won’t resign. Nothing more, just 14 billion. He wants to preside over the expenditure”.
Wike went further to fault Ayu’s logic that he founded the PDP, accusing him of abandoning the party he founded for other to rebuild when his attention was needed most.
“Ayu, you said you founded this party, but you left the party in 2007. You founded a company, you left the company. People stood and made the company what it is today. You left with your shares, so you have no moral right”.
He challenged Ayu to show integrity by vacating his position explaining that the party cannot be claiming to be rebranded when its chairman lacks integrity.
“You want to sell a party to Nigeria, you must convince Nigerians that we have integrity. You are the driver that will drive the vehicle that will convey us to the destination, that is the victory we’re looking for. So, if the driver has no integrity, honestly how do you convince Nigerian?
“If you like call BCC Yoruba service, you cannot take Rivers vote. Go and deliver your state, Benue state first.
Also in his speech, Bode George who is a life member of the party’s Board of Trustees told Ayu to resign immediately. He said that with the way the leadership of the party is skewed in favour of the North, stakeholders in the party cannot have the moral ground to campaign for the party in the South.
He said the Wike is only fighting to restore justice and equity in the party saying that the party cannot go back to Aso divided.
“How can you refer to sitting governor as children, it shows you are immature. The people that are abusing Gov. Wike that he is a trouble shooter, those abusing him, as an elder, as a father in this party, I am directing him to stop immediately because Gov. Wike is only fighting for Justice, for equity and fairness in our party. He is not only a strong pillar in this party but a mobilizer, a financier and an actualizer”.
He challenged the party to tackle the issue of the national chairman of the party before the commencement of the campaign. He said that if Ayu had remained in the party, he could have learnt to respect the agreements in the party.
“How will party members from the South feel when they see that at all political rallies, Southerners have no public political representation. This constitutes a fundamental fault and lack of inclusiveness which is diametrically opposed to the position of the thinking of the founding fathers of our party. May be If Ayu had remained perpetually in the party, he would have learnt the ropes much better.
“That is why the position of the National Chairman must come to the South as a matter of urgency. We are not begging for it; we demand it because it is our right”.
