Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, has revealed why he is part of the allies of his Rivers state counterpart, Nyesom Wike, who demanded the resignation of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu.
It has been reported that Wike and his allies, over the past few Months, have been demanding Ayu’s resignation in the interest of fairness, equity, and justice.
Wike and his camp pointed out that the PDP presidential candidate and the national chairman of the party cannot come from the same region, North.
Speaking in an interview with Daily Sun, the governor said he is part of Wike’s camp to demand that the right thing is done in the party and that every member is treated fairly.
The governor said it is totally unjust for the presidential candidate and the national chairman of the party to come from the same zone.
Ikpeazu, however, said that some leaders of the party have not demonstrated sufficient maturity in handling the internal wrangling.
He said: “Before the primary election, we went back and forward, back and forward and we said zoning, which is in our party; later it was thrown open. Some of us at that time said this was going to be dangerous because in my Igbo parlance, ‘Oke ruem n’aka, asi k’ekegharia ya’ (why is that whenever it is my turn, a new sharing formula will emerge)? But we said okay because we needed to rescue Nigeria we allowed that.
But then, a few understanding was reached, part of it was if we have a chairman from a certain section of the country, will it be good for us to also push a presidential candidate from that same part of the country? And then the answer was well, if that happens, we will make the adjustments.
The first thing again was, won’t jettisoning zoning be dangerous? Now again, what are we going to do if this is the scenario? We said we are going to adjust. Now, some of us are saying, adjust and they are saying no, we won’t adjust now. That is the matter.
Well, the good thing is that we are making these points within the party. As an individual, I am particularly worried that some of our people have not demonstrated sufficient maturity, because these are issues we usually, ordinarily discuss.
Once you come to the marketplace and you talk about your family issues, commentators will pass judgments here and there and will instigate up and down that things are happening. And that is why it seems as if it is a big deal. But because as an Igbo man, and in my position as a two-term governor, I am in a place where if I will not make heaven, let the reason not be that I didn’t speak the truth.
At this level, if I shy away from speaking the truth, then, I am not the son of my father. Irrespective of the fact that I come off with a very simple, unassuming demeanour, there’s steel inside me and I prefer to exhibit it when I want to exhibit it.“
