Atiku’s Visit: South West Has Exonerated Wike – Ex-Rep Member

A former member of the House of Representatives, Chief Ogbonna Nwuke, has said the decision of the South-West wing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to demand the ouster of the national chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, has exonerated Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.

The PDP in the South-West geopolitical zone had on Wednesday, during the visit of the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, demanded for the resignation of Ayu as the party’s national chairman.

Nwuke, in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP in Port Harcourt yesterday, said that all along, some people have tried to divert attention away from the real issues by claiming that Governor Wike for selfish reasons was trying to destabilize the PDP because he did not win the primaries and did not get the position of Atiku’s running mate.

The statement reads in part: “The decision of the South West wing of the PDP to demand the ouster of Ayu from the chairmanship position has exonerated Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

“All along, some people have tried to divert attention away from the real issues by claiming that Governor Wike for selfish reasons was trying to destabilize the PDP because he did not win the primaries and did not get the position of Atiku’s running mate.

“But with the stance taken by Yoruba leaders when Atiku visited them has shown that the struggle for the correction of imbalances in the party is not about Wike.

“Wike is not the issue as some people would want us to believe. Wike has become the symbol of the struggle for the protection of the rights of the people of Southern Nigeria.

“For some reason, persons close to the PDP flagbearer have tried to be clever by half. There is a limit to name calling. Despite attempts to confuse issues and hide the truth, the actual message is out. It is about the South and nothing else.

“We are gladdened by the fact that the South West has spoken clearly. Those who are claiming that Ayu’s removal will raise constitutional issues are deceiving themselves.

“Where was the PDP Constitution when some people decided to ignore the provisions of Article 7(3)(c) which dwells on the issue of power rotation? Was that in itself not a breach of the PDP Constitution?

“Atiku and his handlers must do what is right. Returning the chairmanship of the party to the South at this time is what is right.”