Wike boasts that without him and his team the PDP cannot win next year's presidential elections

GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has confidently declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cannot win the 2023 presidential elections without his input and participation hinting that the party has no choice but to listen to him.

In late June, the PDP elected former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as its flagbearer for next year's presidential election at its annual convention. Governor Wike was a candidate in that election but he was beaten into second place and to make matters worse for him, he was not then picked as the party's running mate.

With Alhaji Abubakar opting to pick Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate, Governor Wike has been on the war path and there are now fears that he will dump the PDP. Since June the Atiku camp and the Wike camp, which is primarily made up of five governors known as the G5, have been unable to reach an agreement.

One key demand of the Wike camp is that PDP chairman Senator Iyorchia Ayu resigns his post, given that like Atiku he is from the both of the country. In a live media chat at the Government House Port Harcourt this morning, Governor Wike said he and his team were committed to making impact in the party, pointing out that the PDP win in states thanks to his financial support.

Governor Wike said: “If I leave the party today, the PDP cannot win the election. If the five PDP governors say they are leaving today, we are not just ordinary governors, we are very committed and strong.

“There is nobody that want to win election and still continue the way they are doing. I have supported many states financially to win election in the past, including Plateau, Ondo, Cross Rivers and they cannot deny it.”

Meanwhile, he raised a fresh allegation against Senator, Ayu, accusing him of collecting N100m and N1bn from a state governor. He challenged the embattled national chairman to refute the corruption allegations against him.

Governor Wike added: “I don’t just come out and speak, let Ayu come out and say he did not collect N1bn. Let me tell you Ayu collected N100m from a governor. If not for the love of this party, if we release what we have, Ayu’s children will go to him and deny him.”

He  vowed to spill more allegations if they are pushed to the wall, accusing Senator accused Ayu of mismanagement and fraudulent practices. Governor Wike anchored his calls on the fact that PDP’s presidential candidate and national chairman cannot come from the same part of the country.