Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State claimed on Monday that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, received over 6 million votes, finishing behind Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), due to the desire for the presidency among Igbo people as well as the fact that he was the youngest of the four front-runners.
Appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, Wike asserted that Obi’s success was not necessarily due to his purported integrity.
Read Also: Benue Ward Suspends PDP National Chairman, Ayu
The former Anambra State governor contested under a platform that is not among the top two main parties in Nigeria and was mocked as “structureless’ in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election. But he surprisingly won in states like Lagos, Plateau, and Nasarawa, and scored more votes than the opposition projected.
Wike said;
First, it was because of the belief that the presidency should go to the Southeast.
Secondly, some people wanted a younger person.
Wike also noted he supports the suspension of Iyorchia Ayu, national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The PDP in Benue state suspended Ayu over alleged anti-party activities.
Ayu’s suspension letter dated March 24 was signed by 12 executive members of Igyorov ward, Gboko LGA of Benue.
The executive members claimed that Ayu worked against the success of the party in the ward during the 2023 general election.
They also alleged that Ayu did not vote in the March 18 governorship and state assembly elections.
Speaking during the interview, Wike said he aligns with the suspension because Ayu contributed to the “failure” of the PDP during polls.
He said;
I am in support of the suspension. In fact, if he (Ayu) had left before now, they would have said that was why the PDP failed the election.
First of all, if you are a member of the party, will you be happy with the way the party is today? It is only in this country that you see someone who has failed woefully and without any conscience would still like to occupy the position.
Wike said in advanced countries, leaders of political parties don’t need to be told to “turn in the towel” when they fail.
Before now, Ayu ought to have left that office. People were saying we were pushing for Ayu to leave and that we had a hidden agenda to make PDP fail.
Ayu remained and PDP didn’t win. You lost your unit as national chairman, you lost your ward as national chairman, you lost your local government as national chairman of the party. Not only did you(Ayu’s state) take a distant third in the presidential election, you also lost in the state gubernatorial election.
