Senator Iyorcha Ayu, the national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), insisted yesterday that the party's leadership would not buckle under any intimidation, especially from some resentful members, despite calls for his resignation from forces loyal to the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.
Ayu said that the PDP was a
moving train with a united force that no one could destabilize, and he defied
those he called selfish leaders who were peddling lies to try to stop the
party.
He added that no leader can
hijack the party because the PDP was created by a group of leaders working
together and that no one can prevent the party from winning the following
election.
After Alhaji Atiku, the
party's presidential candidate issued a warning, Ayu lashed out at a few key
party figures.
Ayu's outburst against some
of the party's top executives followed a warning from the party's presidential
candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, asking members to quit fighting and refrain
from saying anything that would further splinter the party.
Ayu made a statement
yesterday in Kano State when he helped Atiku and other party leaders formally
welcome Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, a senator for Kano Central and a former
governor of the state, back to the PDP.
Although Shekarau's
enthusiastic return to the opposition party and conscientious attempts to
rebuild the party ahead of the election next year were recognized by Ayu, he
emphasized that neither the PDP nor any individual can be based on one
individual who claims to be superior to another.
The party chairman
underlined that Atiku is the only unifying candidate who can end the
difficulties of insecurity and economic hardships Nigeria is now facing while
bragging about the strength of the PDP to retake Kano and Lagos from the ruling
All Progressives Congress (APC).
We are not interested in
any leader who believes the PDP was created with him in mind, he declared. PDP
cannot ever be based on an individual, and no one in PDP has the right to
assert their superiority over others. Let me reaffirm to those leaders who are
spreading lies about us that we will never be intimidated.
He noted that Kano was
critical and significant to the opposition party, describing yesterday as his
proudest day since taking office as PDP national chairman.
According to him, the PDP
was founded in Kano when the late Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi began organizing the
group's members to fight the military rule of the time.
While admitting that it was
difficult to convince Ibrahim Shekarau to rejoin the PDP because there were
also other suitors, Ayu said that the entire party leadership was pleased to be
in Malam Aminu Kano.
Shekarau, according to him,
is a team player who is willing to collaborate with other members to achieve
the party's success at the state and federal levels.
Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the
governor of Sokoto State, urged Nigerians to reject the APC's intention to hold
onto power after 2023.
Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the
governor of Sokoto State, urged Nigerians to oppose the APC's aim to hold onto
power past 2023, noting that the country's current security issues and
deteriorating economic situation are sufficient grounds to support the PDP.
He praised Shekarau for
making the sacrifice to rejoin the party and urged Kano voters to back PDP in
the general elections in 2023. Atiku also applauded Shekarau's choice to rejoin
the PDP.
Shekarau highlighted in his
declaration speech that injustice and loss of trust were the reasons behind his
choice to leave the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for the PDP.
Shekarau took use of the event to declare his decision to decline the NNPP-offered senatorial seat and to rally his supporters behind the PDP in order to help it win the general elections in 2023.
He said: "Myself and
thousands of my supporters have defected to the PDP. I am determined to deliver
Kano to the PDP. I publicly announced my departure from the NNPP in a letter to
the party's national chairman, state, council, and ward chairmen. I have also
written to the INEC Chairman and the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for
Kano State to inform them that I will no longer be running for senator on the
NNPP platform," he stated.
Senator Bello
Hayatu-Gwarzo, the PDP's vice-chairman for the Northwest, subsequently
registered him with the party. Shekarau joined NNPP in May 2022 with thousands
of his supporters after defecting from APC, the platform on which he won the
senate seat, amid a disagreement with the governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, over control
of the APC in the state.
One of the politicians that
founded the APC in 2013 was the former governor. Between 2003 and 2011, he
served as governor and was a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
But in 2014, he switched over to the PDP.
Ifeanyi Okowa, Atiku's
running mate, Namadi Sambo, Taraba State Governor Darius Ishiaku, and members
of the party's Board of Trustees, led by Walid Jibril, were among the PDP
leaders that traveled to Kano to meet with Shekarau.
Other dignitaries include
Sule Lamido, Saminu Turaki, Attahiru Bafarawa, Shehu Shema, Ahmad Makarfi, and
Boni Haruna, who served as governors of Jigawa, Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna, and
Adamawa, respectively; Mahdi Aliyu, who served as deputy governor of Zamfara
State; Idris Umar, who served as minister of transportation; Ahmad Babb
In the meanwhile, Wike
stated nothing has happened yet, "but something will happen shortly,"
in reference to the party's divisions.
Nobody can threaten the PDP
ex-presidential candidate, he claims, since he will always act morally
regardless of intimidation or blackmail. He spoke as Eneka internal roads were
flagged off in the state's Obio-Akpor region.
"Anyone who knows me
knows that once I have made up my mind and I believe that what I am doing is
right, if you like, let the entire people team up, as well as my conscience is
clear, I will always do what is right at all times; it doesn't matter any gang up,"
stated Wike.
"We should all be
calm; you've heard what's going on in PDP," I said. By God's grace,
nothing has happened yet, but soon something will.
I don't even give a damn if
you go out and buy newspaper owners and post any story you want on the front
pages. Tell lies about me if you want to demonize me. You are concerned, but I
am not. I'll act morally upright. People are crying, and I have done nothing.
What will happen if we take a certain action?
"Every time I deliver
the newspaper, they report that Wike did this or that. I chuckle Making them feel
uneasy. Make them experience insomnia. What needs to be done will be done when
the time is right. No one will intimidate me.
conclusion:
thanks for reading this article, may God bless you abundantly.