2023: We ‘ll not leave PDP, we ‘ll fight in the party – Wike

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State  has said that he has no reason to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), no matter the situations threatening unity of the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.

He said this on Thursday during a meeting with PDP stakeholders in Rivers state.

Wike’s comment is the latest in the crisis rocking the party over the call for Iyorchia Ayu, PDP national chairman, to resign.

The Rivers governor and his allies have been at the forefront of the calls for Ayu to step down on the grounds that the party’s presidential candidate and national chairman cannot be from the same region.

Amid the controversy, the PDP had released the list of members of its presidential campaign council and Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto, was named director-general (DG) of the council.

Wike and some of his allies are also listed as members of the council, but the supporters of the Rivers governor have said they will not participate in the presidential campaign until Ayu resigns.

In response, Atiku Abubakar, PDP presidential candidate, has said he cannot force the national chairman to resign.

Speaking on Thursday, Wike said that the recent developments would not make him leave the party.

According to a statement by Kelvin Ebiri, his spokesman, the Rivers governor added that it is wrong for the party’s presidential candidate, national chairman, and presidential campaign DG to be from the same region.

“One thing I have always told people is if anybody is thinking, doing anything to think that we will leave PDP, foul. We will do the fight in the party. We are not like them, when in 2014 they walked out from Eagle Square. They’ve forgotten. They walked out and joined APC. Is it not correct?” Wike was quoted as saying.

“Did they remain to fight inside the party? But we remained; they ran away. Now, there is a fight in the party, we will not run. We will fight it in this party. Those who run away from fights are weak people. We will not. So, everybody should know this is the state where we are, so that nobody tells you all kind of stories.

“You have taken presidential candidate; you have taken party chairman; you have also taken the DG (director-general) of the campaign. We are talking about party politics. Decisions are made by the presidential candidate , chairman of the party, and the DG of the campaign.

“They are telling you they told the chairman of the BoT to resign. So, you know there is a problem. You said he should go and resign. You can put pressure on him to resign when his tenure hasn’t come to an end, but you cannot put pressure on the chairman to resign. You think at our level you will deceive us; you’ll tell us stories.”