PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State, Hon. Ladi Adebutu has asked the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike and others who could not accept Iyorchia Ayu as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to leave the party.
Wike and four other governors of the PDP have insisted that Ayu should resign as the Chairman of the party or they would not support the presidential candidacy of Atiku Abubakar.
According to them, Ayu had promised that he would resign his position if a northerner emerged as the presidential candidate of the PDP.
After Atiku emerged winner of the PDP primary election held in May, Wike and his supporters have repeatedly asked Ayu to resign, even as efforts to pacify them were rebuffed.
Addressing non-indigene residents in Ogun at a gathering in Abeokuta, Adebutu stated that those who could not abide by the decision of a party are free to leave or form their own party.
Making a veiled reference to the governors, Wike of Rivers, Seyi Makinde of Oyo and Sam Ortom of Benue, Adebutu said: “Unlike those that don’t understand that the party is supreme, that Iyorchia Ayu is our ‘oga,’ they don’t recognize that he has the power to hire and fire, we accept his leadership.
“By the Supreme Court judgements severally pronounced, those that don’t like your party has a few choices, they can either abide, go and form their own party or get out! We have chosen to abide by and obey Ayu’s dictates.
“We agree he is our chairman. We agree that Hon. Sikirulahi Ogundele is our leader in Ogun and he is representing Iyorchia Ayu. We agree to submit ourselves to the National Working Committee of the party. Those that don’t abide should go and form their own party.”
Addressing Igbo, Hausa, Igede, Ijaw, Idoma and others who were out to declare support for Atiku and other PDP candidates, Adebutu maintained that Nigerians remain one big family regardless of tribe or religion.
“We are one Nigeria because we are one family speaking different languages, but we are happy together. May we continue to live together as one family and be happy.
“We are happy that we have somebody joining us together, His Excellency, Waziri Atiku Abubakar. It is not in dispute that he is our leader and we shall all work hard to make him the president of Nigeria. He is the unifier. We have a duty to do him proud and do ourselves proud. We must continue to promote his ideologies,” Adebutu said.
Speaking on the crisis rocking the PDP in Ogun, the former lawmaker told the gathering that: “I want to reassure you that all the shenanigans of these naysayers, of these terrible human beings, have failed in their mission to disrupt our party. Let us stay united, don’t be distracted. They have a purpose to distract us. They have worked for their pay, they have worked for their purpose, they have done their job.”
He added: “Let us be focused, in the next few weeks we will be free; and when we are free, we will continue our journey.”
He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of failing to provide security, good governance and food for the masses.
“The economy is failing every day, we are hungrier by the day, and they are weaponising poverty. They claim that the foreign exchange is crashing, therefore we have to buy things at more exorbitant prices and because of that, there is inflation. Our people are suffering from hunger, but I tell you, relief has come. Just hang in there for four months, in four months’ time, we shall get salvation, we shall get a renewal,” he said.