Nyesom Wike: We’ll help PDP lose 2023 presidential election

The People's Democratic Party has been threatened with losing the 2023 presidential election, according to Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.

This was expressed by Wike, who is engaged in a heated argument with Senator Iyorchia Ayu, the PDP's national chairman, on Thursday during the opening of a road in the Omerelu community of Rivers' Ikwerre Local Government Area.

The governor was addressing Ayu's recent remarks that those calling for him to resign were youngsters.

Ayu had stated, "I have not broken any regulations; in fact, I am striving to bring reforms to the party, in an interview with BBC Hausa. I honestly don't care about the pointless fuss that is being stirred up. These kids weren't there when we started PDP. They are children who do not know why we formed the party. We will not allow any individual to destabilise our party.”

But in his response, Wike described Ayu as a greedy man who was only after his interest.

He said it was obvious that Ayu wanted the PDP to lose in 2023 and he was willing to assist him achieve that.

“You can imagine what power can do. You can imagine the ingratitude; how people can be ingrates in their lives. I thought as a chairman of a party who wants to win elections, your business is to bring peace to your party; your business is not to divide your party. Your business is not to show arrogance to your party.

“Yes, the children brought you to be chairman of the party. The children brought you from the gutter to make you chairman. Doctor Ayu said we are children. Yes, the children brought you from the gutter to make you chairman. Now we have seen that you don’t want the party to win election, we will help you.

“Ayu, you said you founded this party, but you left the party in 2007. You founded a company, you left the company, people stood and brought out the company to what it is today, you have no moral right to still come and claim that you founded that company, you left with your shares. You want to show integrity, you want to show a party to Nigeria that we want to take over, you must convince Nigerians that we have the integrity. You are the driver that will drive the vehicle to convey us to go our destination. That is the victory we are looking for. If the driver has no integrity and cannot show honesty, how do you convince Nigerians? If you tell Nigerians something and cannot do it, is it when you enter into power that you will do it?”