Wike To Ayu: 20 Votes Of Confidence Will Not Save You; Mocks Celebrating Former Chairman, Prince Secondus

By Charles Igbo

Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State, on Saturday, September 10, 2021, continued his attack on the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr Iyorchia Ayu. He said Ayu must quit the office of the Chairman.

On Thursday, September 8, Ayu received a vote of confidence during the 97th meeting of the Party’s National Executive Council, NEC, from the members.

But Wike, on Saturday, dismissed the vote of confidence passed on Ayu as of no effect.  He said it will not save Ayu. 20 votes of confidence, Wike said, will not save the National Chairman.

Wike also laughed and mocked the immediate past National Chairman of the Party, his kinsman, Prince Uche Secondus, for celebrating the vote of confidence passed on Ayu.

Wike was instrumental to installing Secondus as the National Chairman, but led the battle to remove him, even after a similar vote of confidence was, also, passed on him.

Wike spoke in Porthacourt on Saturday when he received defectors from other Parties into the PDP.

Wike: ” I was listening and watching, they said there is  one man called Secondus. They said he was dancing, celebrating that NEC gave their person (Ayu) vote of confidence.

“He forgets history. Ask him, the same NEC, through Aliyu Babangida (former Governor of Niger State), moved a motion of vote of confidence, supported by the same person, Ndudi Elumelu.They gave you (Secondus) a vote of confidence. What happened? You left office.

“We don’t fight and go back. If you like, you can have as many as 20 votes of confidence, it’s not my business. My business is to make sure the right thing is done. And the right thing must be done. Whether today or tomorrow.”

Wike and four other Governors – Samuel Ortom, Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia,  Seyi Makinde, Oyo, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu – and some stakeholders are insisting that Ayu vacates office for a Southerner based on an agreement reached before the Presidential Primaries that if a Northerner emerges, Ayu would step down. Ayu himself, allegedly, said so, and so did the Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The agreement, it is said, is to have a balance between the North and the South.

But Ayu refused to quit since after the Presidential Primaries, insisting he was elected for a four-year tenure in office. Atiku, himself, also, now says Ayu would quit when he wins the Presidential race.

On Thursday at the NEC meeting, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin resigned and was succeeded by a Southerner, former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara. But Wike has dismissed that as an insult to the South.

On Friday when members of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the Party paid a condolence visit to Wabara, who recently  lost his wife, Ayu appealed to Wabara to bring Wike and Camp fully back to the Party. He pleaded with them to come back so they can all work together and not disappoint Nigerians in their expectations that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, must be sacked.

Ayu, also, disclosed that members of the NWC will be in Porthacourt early this week on a visit to Wike to sort things out and reconcile the Party.

24 hours after that decision, Wike insisted that Ayu must go.