By Chinelo Obogo, Lagos
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Awka Ibom State has advised members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to learn to keep their word and fulfill any promise they make.
Emmanuel, who is the Chairman of Atiku Abubakar’s Presidential Campaign Organisation, said Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and other “dissenting voices” within the party have the right to express their views and that they would not be ignored.
Speaking on Channels TV on Thursday, the Akwa Ibom governor, reacting to calls for the resignation of PDP National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu, said leaders uphold their promises.
Ayu has been quoted to have promised that if the party elects a northerner as its presidential candidate and they want him to resign, he would resign. While Wike also revealed that Atiku had visited him after the PDP presidential primaries and promised him that Ayu would resign, a claim which Atiku is yet to refute.
On Wednesday, Wike’s group, which is made up of serving and former governors and ex-ministers, met in Rivers State and insisted that both the presidential candidate of the party (Atiku) and the party’s national chairman (Ayu) cannot come from the north. They subsequently announced their withdrawal from the campaign council, insisting that Ayu must step down for a southerner to take over as chairman.
Read also: Hypocrisy militating against anti-graft war – ICPC boss
Responding to their actions, Atiku said that he cannot decide if Ayu should resign or not and urged Wike’s camp to “have a rethink, retrace their steps” and join his 2023 presidential campaign team.
“This is a family business. Nyesom Wike is my brother, you all know that…One thing I discovered about politics and life: people should try to do what they say they will do; that is the cause of some of the problems. If I say I will do B if A happens, let me keep to that. If I say I will do B if C happens, let me also keep to that. Everybody has the right to express himself however he wants. The earlier as a country we keep to our words and promises, the better for everybody,” Emmanuel said.
Reacting to claims that the removal of Ayu must follow the constitution of the party, the governor said: “Some things are lawful but not all things are expedient. I’m coding my expression here. So let look at those things that are expedient for peace sake. I believe somebody like me if I know, even as lawful as that thing may be, if it is expedient for the sake of peace and for us to move, I think I can take certain actions.”
He, however, expressed hope that the issues within the party would be resolved soon.