Ayu, a creation of Wike, other PDP govs; Atiku not to blame for him remaining as chairman —Melaye

As the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deepens, Senator Dino Melaye, spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the party, has maintained that Iyorchia Ayu, the PDP national chairman, was the creation of governors on the party’s platform.

Melaye was apparently reacting to a statement credited to the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, over the alleged incendiary comments by the former Vice President killings in the state.

Ortom, while speaking in Makurdi on Sunday when he hosted his other G5 Governors, had said anybody supporting the Vice President in Benue was an enemy of the state.

The quintet of Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu and Samuel Ortom were demanding Ayu’s resignation for a southern chairman.

READ ALSO:Melaye demands apology from Obi over outburst at townhall meeting

They insisted that both the presidential candidate and the national chairman could not come from the same region.

Melaye, who spoke on the development in a Channels Television Programme, Politics Today, on Tuesday night, said the statement by Ortom was parochial and ridiculous.

The former lawmaker argued that Atiku should never be blamed for the retention of the former Senate Presdent as the national chairman of the party.

He expressed optimism that the opposition would win in the 2023 general elections.

He said: “What is the role of Atiku Abubakar in Ayu leaving or not? These governors brought Ayu without Atiku’s consent or approval. Ayu is a creation of the governors. Governor Wike is responsible for the coming of Ayu while Ortom is the guarantor. That’s why there was no contention.

“So I’ll not want anybody to hinge their complaints on Atiku because he is not Atiku’s son and can’t be told to go and sit down. So to ask Atiku to take panadol for another person’s headache shows an insincerity of purpose and commitment.

“We may not completely be able to get every together; we can’t even get everybody together. But I want to tell you that some of these governors are still going to work for their party.”

By Ambali Abdulkabeer

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