Jonah Jang, a former governor of Plateau State, has alleged that Iyorchia Ayu, the party’s national chairman, aided Atiku Abubakar in securing the presidential ticket of PDP for president in the 2023 election.
Jang said this at a meeting of PDP members on the side of Governor Nyesom Wike in the tussle against the Ayu-led party leadership on Wednesday in Port Harcourt.
The former governor of Plateau claimed that Ayu had a “private arrangement” with the governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, to undercut Governor Nyesom Wike and other candidates at the party presidential primary.
Jang accused Ayu of bias in the conduct of the PDP’s primary election, comparing Ayu to a “referee” who assisted one of the sides in scoring a goal and then blew the whistle saying a goal had been scored.
“For the National Chairman, Ayu, to go and embrace Aminu Tambuwal, calling him the hero of the convention which means there was a private arrangement that was done with Tambuwal to shortchange other contestants, including Governor Nyesom Wike. Here was a referee who now helped one of the sides to score a goal and then blew a whistle that a goal had been scored. This is not what we formed the PDP to do for Nigerians and therefore we unequivocally ask that Ayu has to step down,” Jang said.
In the party’s presidential primary, Tambuwal, who was one of the top candidates, stepped aside at the last minute and requested his supporters to vote for Atiku.
With Tambuwal’s help, Atiku defeated Governor Wike and other hopefuls to become the party’s presidential candidate.
Jang recalled Ayu’s visit to Tambuwal’s Abuja apartment hours after the primary, ostensibly to thank him for standing down for Atiku, and said it revealed the two men had a private pact.
Discussion about this post