If Senator Iyorchia Ayu continues to serve as the PDP’s national chairman, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State says he will not attend any reconciliation meetings.
Ayu’s resignation will go a long way in helping him embrace Atiku’s offer of reconciliation, according to Wike, who made this statement when Adamawa State Governor Umaru Fintiri visited him in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday.
This is at a time when other PDP leaders are intensifying their pressure on Ayu to resign as they work feverishly to find a solution to the party’s internal problem before the start of electioneering in September.
Sources within the party, however, claim that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate, does not want to sacrifice Ayu by readily caving in to Wike’s demands.
According to reliable sources, Governor Fintiri traveled to meet with Wike as an agent of Atiku.
The purpose of the meeting, which was held in secret, was to resolve the conflict between the two leaders.
The Rivers governor pledged not to “attend any meeting with Atiku, with Ayu as party chairman” at the meeting, according to a reliable source.
If you recall, Ayu had declared that he would resign as soon as a northerner emerged as the PDP’s presidential candidate.
According to Vanguard, Wike reportedly informed Fintiri that even if he didn’t insist that Ayu resign, his vow to do so if a northerner emerged as the front-runner for president should still force Ayu to do so.
Similar to this, Chief Olabode George, a former deputy national chairman of the PDP, asked Ayu to do the right thing and quit. According to the source, Ayu’s decision to continue serving as party chair is “the sticking point,” and Atiku does not want to be perceived as “throwing Ayu under the bus.” Additionally, the insider revealed that “certain party leaders are putting pressure on Ayu to resign and do the right thing.
“Yes, Wike may be angry with Ayu for allegedly stopping him at the convention and again as running mate, but the real issue now is the burden of honour that is on Ayu’s head. He promised at Eagle Square that he would resign once a Northerner emerges as presidential candidate.”
PDP chairmen have historically been sacrificed, according to certain party leaders. The source stated, “But in this situation, Ayu is being informed that he can make the sacrifice himself because that was a promise he made. There is a distinction between a president emerging and a Northern candidate emerging. He must uphold his integrity.
