Ayu Berates APC Governors for Abandoning State Responsibilities for Abuja Politics

•We changed party leadership to win 2023 polls, says Wike

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, has berated the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors, for allegedly abandoning their responsibilities in their states to reside in Abuja for alleged party chairmanship job.

Ayu also alleged that another APC governor hid N19 billion in a bank instead of providing development to his people.

The PDP chairman made the assertions yesterday, while performing the flag-off of the Oyigbo-Okoloma Road in Oyigbo Local Government Area Rivers State.

He said: “I am not only proud of the governor of Rivers, I am proud of PDP governors. Every PDP governor with the resources base of the state have been trying very hard to make sure that the people get the dividends of democracy.

“The other party, the governors take power as a joke. How on earth can a governor leave his state and become a party chairman and live in Abuja without making any effort to develop his state? I believe such action does not take into recognition the people, who laboured to elect such a governor.

“How can a governor of a state take N19 billion and go and hide in a bank account, in a state where he has not paid salaries? He has not been able to do any positive development by ways of hospital, road construction or anything. No PDP governor has hidden N19 billion in his account, the little they get, they are busy making effort to develop their areas.”

Ayu, however, said his leadership would ensure that they increased the number of states controlled by the PDP, produce majority membership of the National Assembly and clinch the presidency in 2023.

“The Peoples Democratic Party is prepared to expand its base not only in control of states, but in control of the National Assembly and ultimately also the return to the villa in Abuja, where we shall put a president of PDP extraction.”

Earlier, the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike said concerned stakeholders fought for the change of the immediate past national leadership of PDP, because they wanted to reposition the party to win the presidency in 2023.

While maintaining that such change of leadership at the national level was also to avert a situation of doom for the party, Wike asserted that the party now has good leadership in place to rescue Nigeria from the APC governance.

He urged Ayu to brace up for the task ahead and capitalise on the opportunity he has to effect positive change in the party and return PDP back to the presidency.

The governor, who declared that Rivers people had no other party than the PDP, which is why they would not allow it to die, said Rivers was among few states in the country that denied the APC a 25 per cent of vote spread during the 2015 and 2019 national elections.

“There is calm in my state about those who want to be governor. What I have told them is to go and do your consultation, but nobody should go and consult the national chairman, nobody should consult NWC. Do your consultation here, because it is the people here that will vote,” he said.