Former Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang has accused People’s Democratic Party national leader Iyorchia Ayu of helping Atiku Abubakar run as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 election at the expense of his opponents, including Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers, to emerge state during the primary.
Jang made the statement while speaking after a meeting of some PDP members who sided with Governor Wike in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
He likened Ayu to a “referee” helping one of the teams to score and whistled that a goal had been scored.
The ex-Plateau governor claimed Ayu struck a “private arrangement” with Sokoto state governor Aminu Tambuwal to miss out on governor Nyesom Wike and other aspirants in the party’s presidential primary.
In the party’s presidential primary, Tambuwal, one of the leading candidates, made a last-minute decision to step down and asked his supporters to vote for Atiku.
With Tambuwal’s support, Atiku was able to defeat Governor Wike and other contenders to emerge as the party’s presidential nominee.
Jang recalled Ayu’s visit to Tambuwal’s residence in Abuja hours after primary school, apparently to thank him for the gesture of stepping down for Atiku, saying it proved there was a private agreement between the two men.
“Thank you thank you. You are the hero of the convention,” Ayu told his host in a video clip that captured his arrival at Tabuwal’s residence.
After the Wike-led group’s meeting in Port Harcourt, Jang said: “For the national chairman, Ayu, to go and hug Aminu Tambuwal and call him the hero of the Congress, meaning a private agreement was reached for Tambuwal to.” overtaking other candidates, including Governor Nyesom Wike.
“There was a referee here who helped one side to score a goal and then whistled that a goal had been scored. This is not what we founded the PDP for Nigerians and that is why we unequivocally demand that Ayu resign.”
