Politics

APC, PDP Trade Words Over Ayu’s Comment

Published

3 years ago

February 11, 2023

Editor

The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council has fired back at the ruling All Progressives Congress, reminding the party that the convoy of President Muhammadu Buhari was stoned in Kano a few weeks ago.

The PDP PCC stated this on Saturday in a reaction to the taunts directed at the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, by the APC when in a slip of the tongue in Kano, during the party’s presidential campaign rally last week, said, “PDP has brought us shame. We won’t retain them in power.”

The error of the tongue fetched Ayu a barrage of criticisms not only from the APC but also from Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State who has been consistent in his call for Ayu’s resignation.

“When you see undertakers, you will see those who came to kill this party but the party will not die. They will die first. He (Ayu) said they will not allow PDP to be in power. Is that a good chairman? Is that not anti-party? Is the chairman not doing anti-party? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks,” Wike was quoted as saying in response to Ayu’s Kano outing.

In its reaction, the APC campaign team, in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, noted that the PDP chairman was only stating the obvious.

“In our view, Iyorchia Ayu did not suffer from slip of the tongue. He was only reflecting an inner guilt about the grave damage his party inflicted on our country for 16 years,” the statement read in part.

Not prepared to have the ruling party have the last say on the matter, the spokesman for the PDP PCC, Dino Melaye, in a statement on Saturday, urged the ruling party to deal with its internal issues first before attempting to cast aspersions on Ayu.

The statement read in part, “Unsettled by the peaceful, stone-free and resounding rally of the People’s Democratic Party in Kano on Thursday, the fractured, factionalised and fading All Progressives Congress, APC, had no other reaction after the impressive outing than to make a song and dance of what was by its own admission, a slip of tongue of the urbane and intellectually savvy Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

“To demonstrate the extent that incoherence and political erosion has so much disoriented the beleaguered APC, its spinners attempted to cover the flame of its failure with a bare hand in an attempt to veil the rejection and shame that beguiled the party when its leaders were stoned in that same Kano City just a few days before. The balablue of the APC is a shock therapy for the massive reception that the PDP received in Kano.

“It is repulsive and revulsive that a party that has ruined the economy and made it so prostrate that citizens are now buying their own currency will be talking about shame. What is more shameful than having thousands of naira in your bank but you are unable to buy groundnut of N200 to mix with your garri, because you have a party that has completely run out of ideas and has consequently run our country aground?

“How can a party talk of shame where banks have now shut down and customers have relocated from the peace of their homes to the cubicle of Automated Teller Machines hoping for a wad of naira notes to slip from the currency dispenser?

“How can a party talk of shame where in the place of hope for a better academic system in the university, its presidential candidate is assuring that instead of 4 years, students will spend 8 years? What a renewal of misery and hopelessness?

“How can a party talk about shame when its own presidential candidate is accusing the President of Nigeria and leader of his party of sabotage and an unpardonable economic mismanagement that has taken the naira from exchanging at 200 naira to a dollar to 800 naira to a dollar within 7 years?

“How can a party talk of shame when in a nation of over 200 million people, the APC is parading a man who most times doesn’t know where he is and utters unintelligible bulaba and balabu all over the place?

“How can a party talk of shame where trillions of naira has been spent on fuel subsidy and Nigerians in the pauperised villages are buying a litre of petrol at 400 naira while those who ferry public money around in bullion vans pay 180 naira per litre?

“How can a party talk of shame where the rule of law and the judiciary have been so bastardized that a vibrant and erudite Chief Justice of Nigeria was manacled out of office and was replaced by a lackey who ultimately paved way for a Chief Judge that romances with a dissenting group in a political party? Is it any little wonder that the chairman of an election tribunal danced ‘buga’ in a courtroom to demonstrate his bias in a brazen conduct that awarded from the bench what a contestant could not obtain from the ballot box?”

Melaye further noted that had APC understood the meaning of shame, it would apologize to Nigerians “for arresting development, destroying the economy, bastardising the judiciary, inflicting pain of fuel, food and fund scarcity and making Nigeria a laughing stock all over the world.

“A party that has become irredeemable, consigning the hope of Nigeria in a mentally and physically sagged flag bearer can only be stopped in its tracks by a broadminded visionary leader with a sound mind in a sound body, Atiku Abubakar.

“The APC has performed in its destructive best. We have just two weeks to terminate this pain. Money will circulate again,” Melaye added.

Politics

2027: Nobody Wants Fubara – Wike

Published

15 minutes ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed claims that there is widespread support for Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara to return in 2027.

Speaking during his monthly media parley on Wednesday in Abuja, Wike suggested that Fubara can’t claim to enjoy unanimous backing from the public.

He explained that the political crisis in Rivers State had earlier been addressed through the intervention of President Bola Tinubu, particularly during impeachment proceedings initiated against Fubara.

According to Wike, the President advised all parties to embrace peace, leading to the withdrawal of the impeachment move by the State House of Assembly after agreements were reached.

Wike, however, alleged that the governor failed to fully adhere to the terms agreed during the arbitration process.

Reacting to claims that the people were urging Fubara to seek re-election in 2027, Wike rejected the assertion, insisting that such narratives were misleading.

Wike maintained that appearing before the President for arbitration required respect for the outcome, noting that all parties were expected to uphold their commitments.

He said: “The President, intervened in the impeachment proceeding. I said withdraw, let their be peace. And the governor said, look, I’m ready for peace. Look, I’m no longer interested for this. I will not do this. The Assembly went and withdrew the impeachment.

“Having withdrawn the impeachment, he is now too smart on what you agreed before the President. It’s like when you go on arbitration.”

Wike continued, “This one is what I don’t like. Nobody wants anybody. Please, don’t tell me that. Excuse me.

You can go and tell that to the market people or children. Two years that people say he should come out. Who told you that?

“Which politician will say that I was sleeping they came and woke me? Even if people people come to wake you, can’t you say, no, I won’t do it. I’m not prepared for it.

“That you appeared before a President of the country on arbitration, the two parties on arbitration, and these people respected Mr. President, and have done their own part.”

Politics

2027: Wike Opens Up On Preferred Rivers Guber Candidate

Published

22 minutes ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday said he hasn’t endorsed any candidate for the Rivers state gubernatorial election in 2027.

Wike stated this on Wednesday during his monthly media parley in Abuja.

Wike said that the endorsement will come only after a meeting by the joint coalition in the state.

He said: “I haven’t endorsed anybody. And I can’t endorse anybody until the joint coalition meets.”

DAILY POST reports that questions have been raised concerning the fate of current governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, in 2027.

The FCT Minister was reported to have endorsed former State Commissioner for Works, Alabo Dakorinama George Kelly, as his preferred candidate for the Rivers State governorship election.

Sources told DAILY POST that Wike settled for George after a closed-door meeting with key political stakeholders in Port Harcourt on Monday.

Politics

Open Bank Account In PDP Name, See What Will Happen – Wike Dares Turaki Faction

Published

26 minutes ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday challenged the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, faction led by Tanimu Turaki to open an official party bank account and secretariat if they truly believe they control the opposition party’s structure.

Speaking with journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, Wike accused some party leaders of misleading Nigerians and violating court judgments in the lingering leadership crisis rocking the PDP.

The former Rivers State governor insisted that the faction opposing the party’s recognised leadership lacked legal standing and could not lawfully operate the affairs of the party.

“You cannot continue to deceive Nigerians. If they are sure they are the authentic leadership of the PDP, let them open an official PDP account and tell party members to pay nomination fees into it,” Wike said.

He specifically challenged Taminu Turaki, SAN, and other leaders of the rival camp to test their claims by opening a bank account in the name of the PDP.

“Let Turaki, as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, open an account for the PDP. Let them announce it publicly for members who want to contest elections. That day, you will see what will happen,” he stated.

Wike argued that no bank would recognise such an account because the faction allegedly lacks the legally recognised party structure and documentation required to operate.

“That bank will be in trouble because to open such an account, you must provide the party’s authentic documents and recognised leadership. Who has those documents?” he queried.

The FCT minister also warned against attempts to establish what he described as illegal party offices, vowing that any action capable of causing a breakdown of law and order in Abuja would not be tolerated.

“If anybody goes ahead to open an illegal office in the name of the PDP in Abuja, I will seal it. I will not allow any breach of peace because my duty is to maintain law and order in the Federal Capital Territory,” he said.

Wike maintained that court judgments had already settled the dispute over the PDP leadership and convention issues, accusing some actors of twisting judicial pronouncements for political convenience.

“People should stop deceiving Nigerians. The judgments are clear. You cannot ignore court decisions and begin to create parallel structures,” he added.

The minister further dismissed claims that the Supreme Court ruling favoured the rival faction, insisting that the legal processes and decisions available supported his position and that of the recognised party leadership.

According to him, attempts to reinterpret the judgments outside the established legal context were aimed at confusing party members and the public.

Wike said he remained a committed member of the PDP and was only defending what he described as constitutional order and due process within the party.

PDP has remained embroiled in internal leadership disputes following disagreements over the party’s convention, caretaker arrangements and recognition of key national officers ahead of the 2027 general elections.