PDP: Wike Spills Some Secrets As He Calls Out Party Chairman For Collecting N1bn Bribe In Lagos

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party took a new dimension on Friday with the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, making a series of allegations against the Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, and Atiku Abubakar.

While the PDP is waiving the olive branch in Wike’s direction, Ayu and Atiku refused to react to his outburst.

At the PDP convention in May, Wike had polled 237 votes to finish second behind Atiku, a former Vice-President, whose 371 votes gave him the privilege of flying the party’s flag in the 2023 presidential election.

Although Wike has continued to pledge his loyalty to the PDP, he is insistent that following the emergence of Atiku, the national chairman of the party, Ayu, cannot continue to preside over the affairs of the PDP given that he is from the North like the presidential candidate.

With Ayu and Atiku both unwilling to grant his request, Wike has wasted no time in forming a formidable movement whose members include governors Seyi Makinde, Okezie Ikpeazu, and Samuel Ortom of Oyo, Abia, and Benue states respectively, to force the chairman out of office.

The pro-Wike movement also has in its fold, veteran politicians like a former Minister of Information, Prof Jerry Gana; ex-governors Donald Duke, Olusegun Mimiko, and Jonah Jang of Cross River, Ondo, and Plateau states, respectively, as well as former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Olabode George, among others.

With the party and Atiku not prepared to meet the demands of the governor, Wike’s team withdrew from the PDP presidential candidate’s campaign council.

Wike, in a television interview with some journalists in Port Harcourt on Friday, dared the PDP to suspend him and await the consequences.

“Who will suspend me? Which party? I beg them today, they should not waste time suspending me. They should call a National Executive Committee meeting now and say, ‘You are now suspended from the party. Anything you see, you take. They know what I will do,” he boasted.

On the options available to him in the event of a suspension, the governor asked, “What do you think is our job here? My job here is not just to do projects. I am not saying I am bigger than the party, but those who ran away from the party cannot suspend me from the party.”

‘Ayu manipulated delegates’

In what appeared to be an indication of a personal feud between the governor and the party’s chairman, Wike revealed some of the intrigues that characterized the convention and presidential primaries of the PDP.

“He (Ayu) was calling aspirants to withdraw for Atiku. I was there; Saraki and others were there. He (Ayu) manipulated the delegates. There was nothing Ayu did not do to ensure that Wike did not emerge,” he lamented.

Aware of his political relevance in Rivers State, Wike reminded his party that winning in the oil-rich state without his support was a mere wish, saying, “You can do without me, I agree; but to say you will win without me in this state (Rivers), it will not be possible.”

‘Ayu collected N1bn’

The governor faulted Ayu’s posture as a man of integrity as he described the former Senate President as very corrupt.

Speaking with newsmen on Friday, Wike said it was a collective decision of the party that Ayu should resign following the emergence of Atiku as the PDP flag bearer.

He stated, “I’m totally informed. Ayu has the opportunity to challenge me, I will reveal more.

He accused the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, of collecting the sum of N1bn from a presidential candidate.

“Some of the governors can tell you. Will he deny the fact that he collected N1bn from Lagos? Let him deny it; I will tell him who gave him the money, not from the Lagos State Government. The money was given to him in Lagos.

“He met one of the presidential candidates (aspirants) and told him that he’s not sure these governors may want to sponsor the party.

“That money did not enter into the account of the PDP, but we are not attacking Ayu on that basis.”

Tinubu’s offer

While some PDP presidential aspirants picked nomination forms for other elective offices, Wike said he was fully focused on the presidency; a development he noted made him reject the offer to go to the Senate by the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

“I didn’t contest so I can become a vice-presidential candidate. I am not like others who were not serious and bought senatorial forms alongside the presidential form and that’s why when Tinubu offered me the Senate slot, I didn’t go for it,” the governor stated.

PDP appeals

The PDP is, however, optimistic that the disagreement between Ayu and Wike will be resolved amicably.