Amid growing disquiet in the Peoples Democratic Party over the crisis in the party and his absence from the country, the National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, says he’s back and that members have nothing to worry about.
Ayu, who travelled for vacation on June 21, returned on Friday, dousing the rising tension in the party over his absence and that of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who is said to be in France after his trips to the United States and Dubai.
Some party members had described Ayu and Atiku’s vacations abroad as ill-timed, saying their absence was hurting the party and deepening the internal crisis that erupted from the presidential primary. Some members had called for his resignation as the national chairman.
However, in a short interview with one of our correspondents on Saturday evening, Ayu asked members of the party not to panic, saying the party remained strong and formidable.
He said, “I am back from my vacation and I will resume on Monday. There is nothing to worry about in our party. Our party remains strong and formidable.”
Meanwhile, some chieftains of the party, including a former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, have asked the ruling All progressives Congress to steer clear of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike. They described efforts by the APC to woo the governor as a waste of time, noting that the PDP would put its house in order.
Wike is said to be aggrieved by the outcome of the presidential primary, which he lost to Atiku and the fact that he lost the running mate slot to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.
‘Leave Wike alone’
Speaking in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Friday, Saraki told reporters that APC trying to capitalise on the crisis in the PDP to woo Wike was a gross miscalculation and a waste of efforts.
He said, “Wike is an important member of our party and I am very confident that in no distant time, we will sit down and address all the issues. There is no doubt about it that he has cause to feel the way he does, but there are better ways by which issues like this can be resolved.
“The good thing is that we are all talking to one another. The fact that some APC governors went to see their colleague, trying to capitalise on what they think is an issue, is a gross miscalculation. At the end of the day, their visit is going nowhere.
“The APC governors know that it is this kind of a crack they need to latch on to. Fortunately, we are not going to give him (Wike) to them because the election ahead is too important. The destinies of millions of Nigerians are too important and even bigger than any party or individual. I appreciate that all our stakeholders appreciate that and Governor Wike himself appreciates that.”
