“These children brought you from nothing to make you chairman,” calls Ayu prodigal father _ Wike

Governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike says Iyorchia Ayu, national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), may cause the party to lose the 2023 presidential election.

The governor said this in reaction to a recent comment made by Ayu on calls for his resignation while speaking in a BBC Hausa interview on Wednesday saying those demanding his resignation are children.

“When we started the PDP journey, we did not see these children. They are children who do not know why we established this party. We will not allow one person to come and destroy our party,” he had said.

But speaking on Thursday at the inauguration of Omerelu internal road in Ikwerre LGA of the state, Wike said those who Ayu described as children brought him from nothing to be chairman of the party.

“These children — these people you call boys — brought you from nothing.”

“Yes, the children brought you to be chairman of the party. The children brought you from the gutter to make you chairman.

He recalled how some of them including Chief Bode George remained in the party notwithstanding the state of the party post 2015. He accused Ayu of leaving the party multiple times and only returnig to benefit. He described Ayu as prodigal father in reply to Ayu refering to him and others that toiled for the party as children.

The event graced by Chief Bode George, the former PDP Vice Chairman (West) condemned Iyocha Ayu, PDP chairman for the comment.

He said if Ayu remains arrogant and refuses to resign, it may cost the PDP the 2023 presidential election.

“You can imagine what power can do. You can imagine how ingratitude — how people can be ingrates in their lives,” Wike said.

“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.

“Ayu, you were impeached as senate president. Ayu, you were sacked by Obasanjo in his administration. Arrogance cannot take you anywhere.

“Now, we have seen that you don’t want the party to win the election. We will help you.

Recall Wike’s allies had demanded that the PDP national chairman should step down as a precondition for resolving the rift with the party’s presidential flagbearer Atiku Abubakar.

Some members of the party’s national working committee (NWC) are also said to be pushing for a probe of the party’s finances under Ayu’s watch.

And perharps aligning with this trust ambiguity, Wike alleged that Ayu doesn’t want to resign because of the billions of naira in the PDP coffers which were made from the sale of forms during the party’s primary elections.