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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has threatened to work against the interest of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2023 general elections.
Wike's threat comes as a response to recent comments made by the party's National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, who reiterated his stand against the call for his ouster by a section of the party.
The crisis: Recall that the Rivers State Governor and a few other governors in the PDP have been having a protracted dispute with the party's hierarchy, including Ayu himself.
The Wike camp has insisted that, since the party's Presidential flag-bearer, Atiku Abubakar, is from the North, the Chairman must step aside for a Southerner to emerge.
Ayu fights back: Reacting to such calls in an interview with BBC Hausa, Ayu maintained that he was duly elected and he's only focused on working to bring reforms to the party.
Ayu's word: “I have not violated any rules; in fact, I am working to bring reforms to the party. I am truly not bothered by 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 destabilise our party.”
Wike fires back: While speaking at the commissioning of a road in Omerelu community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers, on Thursday, September 1, 2022, the Governor described Ayu as a greedy man who was only after his interest.
Wike added that Ayu's remarks showed that he wanted the PDP to lose the 2023 election and he was willing to assist him achieve that.
Wike's word: “You can imagine what power can do. You can imagine the ingratitude; how people can be ingrates in their lives. I thought as a chairman of a party who wants to win elections, your business is to bring peace to your party; your business is not to divide your party. Your business is not to show arrogance to your party.
“Yes, the children brought you to be chairman of the party. The children brought you from the gutter to make you chairman. Doctor Ayu said we are children. Yes, the children brought you from the gutter to make you chairman. Now we have seen that you don’t want the party to win election, we will help you.
“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 brought out the company to what it is today, you have no moral right to still come and claim that you founded that company, you left with your shares. You want to show integrity, you want to show a party to Nigeria that we want to take over, you must convince Nigerians that we have the integrity. You are the driver that will drive the vehicle to convey us to go our destination. That is the victory we are looking for. If the driver has no integrity and cannot show honesty, how do you convince Nigerians? If you tell Nigerians something and cannot do it, is it when you enter into power that you will do it?"