TheCable

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, has described the resolution by the board of trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) regarding Iyorchia Ayu, the party’s national chairman, as “ridiculous”. 

Wike and his supporters have been demanding the resignation of Ayu after former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar won the party’s presidential ticket.

The call for Ayu’s resignation is on the grounds that the national chairman and the presidential candidate of the party cannot be from the same region.

However, some members of the party had rejected the call for Ayu to resign, saying the national chairman can only resign after the presidential election in February — if Abubakar wins.

On Friday, the PDP BoT asked Ayu to assure members that he will resign after the 2023 general election.

The advice to Ayu was part of the recommendations of the BoT to party members to resolve the crisis in the PDP.

Speaking on Monday at the Omagwa international airport in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, when he returned from Spain, Wike said it is “ridiculous” for the BoT to give such advice.

“To say he should make another commitment that he will resign after the elections, for me, BoT resolution is ridiculous,” he said.

The Rivers governor also spoke on Ayu’s denial that he didn’t receive N100 billion from a presidential hopeful.

“Luckily for me, he (Ayu) has now mentioned that he went to the presidential candidate, alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Waziri of Adamawa, where they discussed the issue of borrowing,” the Rivers governor said.

“Now, the question is, when you talk about borrowing, who approves borrowing? You must go to the national working committee (NWC) to say you want to borrow money. I challenge him to bring the records where NWC approved that the party should go and borrow N1 billion. What is the collateral?

“Be sincere. How can you talk of a N1 billion loan without the NWC mooting the idea, without the governors’ knowledge? Then you talk about the N100 million he said he told the board of trustees (BOT).

“If any governor gives you N100 million in order to rebuild one of the structures of the party, the democratic institute, let him show the minutes of the NWC where he said a governor has contributed N100 million. Let him show the account to reflect this N100 million.

“Let him also say that the N100 million was in naira or in dollars. He said he gave it to the treasurer. I thought he would have told the world that NWC was aware.

“In fact, the normal thing is that once any governor or any party person has donated money to the party, you will go and tell NWC that so and so person has donated money. Let him (Ayu) show us the account where this money was paid into.

“Coming out to do a general denial is not denial. You must deny specifically the allegations that were made. Ask him about the contracts that are going on in this democratic institute and that of Wadata. Who is doing that contract? Is it not one of his sons?

“As a party, we believe that Nigerians must trust us. We must show leadership and part of that leadership is integrity. You don’t just come and deceive Nigerians that you did not collect N1 billion.”