Wike Not Bigger Than PDP, Says Chieftain

A member of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential campaign council, Mr Adetokunbo Pearse has said that Governor Nyesom Wike and other disgruntled governors’ powers do not supersede that of the party.

Pearse said this on Wednesday during Channels TV flagship programme, Sunrise Daily.

It should be noted that Governor Wike and the presidential candidate of the party Atiku Abubakar have been at loggerheads over the Chairmanship of the party. Wike and some other party members had requested that the chairman of the party Dr Iyorchia Ayu step down as the latter and the Atiku were of  Northerner extraction.

Wike and the other loyalists would later pull out of Atiku’s campaign council as Ayu failed to heed the calls for his resignation.

“Gov Wike and anyone have the right in a democracy to state their opinion, but they are not the party, for instance, a governor is not the party in his state,” the party chieftain said.

He asserted that the party was solidly behind the party’s chairman Dr Ayu and will only step down if the party asks him to. alluding to the fact that according to the constitution, the party is made up of the National Executive Council and not individuals.

“The PDP is solidly behind Dr Ayu staying on as the National Chairman of the party because he said when he got elected if a northerner emerges as the presidential candidate of the party he will step down if the party says he should step down ”

“He said it, but it is conditional and guess what, who is the party? the party is the National Executive Council of the party, and they met about 2 or 3 weeks ago and decided that Ayu should stay on,” he said.

Adetokunbo stated that democracy is about numbers and that a number of the Governors in ‘Wike’s faction’ was part of the NEC meeting and that the majority were against their decision.

“No governor, no individual gets to decide for the party it is democracy. In a democratic setting, the constitution says that the NEC decides on the issues they have voted”

“By the way all these people, these governors they are all members of that committee so why don’t they go there and give us their opinion what happens is if they go there, the majority will vote against their decision that is what has happened.”

He claimed that the party was on course to sort out its crisis and make it more inclusive.

“Democratically we are onboard and the party is moving on. while we try to resolve the issues with some people, a few who are not with the party.”