Following the crisis engulfing the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the disagreement between Senator Iyorchia Ayu, the party’s national chairman, and Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, the former has revealed on Tuesday why Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate, chose Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor of Delta State, as his running mate instead of Wike.
Speaking at the Northern Christian Youth Assembly Summit in Abuja, Ayu said that Atiku chose Okowa over his Rivers counterpart, Nyesom Wike, as his running partner due to Okowa’s humility and superior performance in government.
Ayu said, “We looked around and we thought we have to give not just a vice president that will assist him (Atiku) but we did our homework to select a man who is highly educated, very humble, and who has done very well as a governor in his home state.
“Okowa is the most qualified running mate. It is on his own personal merit that he was selected by the party as the vice-presidential candidate for Atiku Abubakar. I think Nigeria will be very lucky to have two such people who are committed to development who are detribalised who believe in uniting this country.”
Ayu has recently made headlines due to a dispute he and the Wike had.
Wike had criticized the emergence of Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate, Ayu as party chairman, and Sen. Walid Jibrin as BoT chairman, all of whom were from the North.
Wike said that the party had broken the laws governing it and had violated the values of equality, fairness, and balance.
He urged that Ayu quit in good faith and let a person from the South take over as the party’s chairman.
Sen. Walid Jibrin, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, submitted his resignation letter in response to the problem, allowing former Senate President Adolphus Wabara (from the South-East) to take over as the new BoT Chairman.
In light of this, the PDP’s National Executive Council last week approved a vote of confidence in the party’s national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
But in his response to that development, Wike said, “I was listening and watching, they said there is one man they call Secondus. They said he was dancing, celebrating that NEC gave their person a vote of confidence. He forgets history.
“Ask him the same NEC through Aliyu Babangida moved a motion of vote of confidence supported by the same person, Ndudi Elumelu. They gave you (Secondus) a vote of confidence, what happened? You left office.
“We don’t fight and go back. If you like you can have as many as 20 votes of confidence, it’s not my business. My business is to make sure the right thing is done, and the right thing must be done. Whether today or tomorrow.
“I’m not going to play party with the interest of my people. Rivers State is paramount to me first before any other person or group. So, the eyes can see what we have done. Up till today, we have never abandoned governance.
“So many people are already rounding up, taking the last they have but yet, we are still committed to commissioning, and flagging off projects. Because of the love we have for our people, we will continue to serve you till May 29, when by the grace of God, Siminialaye Fubara will be inaugurated the next governor of Rivers.”