Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has accused Governor of Ebonyi state, Dave Umahi who just defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, of feeding public with lies over the reason why he left the PDP.
Wike said the truth behind Umahi leaving PDP is for his personal ambition to be the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress in 2023.
He said committed members of the PDP were not surprised that Governor Umahi formally defected to the APC, which he has for a while been fraternising with.
The Rivers State governor accused Umahi of being unfair to the PDP, which gave him the governorship ticket in 2015 against all odds, and repeated same feat in 2019.
Governor Wike demanded that Umahi should retract the statement that the PDP has not been fair to the South-East. He argued that under the PDP, the South East has produced Senate Presidents; National Vice Chairman of the PDP and Secretary to the Federal Government.
“My friend, Umahi wants to be president. There is no problem about that. You have a right to be president. Nobody can stop you. You are educated. You have been a governor for two terms, so you are qualified to say I want to be president of Nigeria.
“But, that does not mean, that because you want to blackmail your party, and tell lies to the people you are leaving the party because of the injustice meted against the South-East, that is not correct.
“In life, power is sweet, but conscience is important. It is most offensive and insulting for a man to lie against his party because of power.
“My reaction to Governor Umahi’s defection is not that he has no right to defect, but to say he is defecting because of injustice meted to the South East that is insulting to the South East,” Wike stated.
Meanwhile, the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has dissolved the ward, local government and state executive committees of the Ebonyi State chapter of the party forthwith.
The NWC in a statement issued by the party National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja, on Tuesday, also dissolved the South-East Zonal Caretaker Committee of the party.
Ologbodiyan said that the decisions were pursuant to the powers conferred on the NWC by the PDP Constitution.
Ologbondiyan, via his Twitter handle, on Tuesday wrote, “The PDP says that the Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. Dave Umahi left our party for personal reasons, which Nigerians will come to know at the fullness of time.
“Our party thanks Governor Umahi for services rendered to the people of Ebonyi State, as the State Chairman of Ebonyi PDP (2003 to 2007); deputy governor of Ebonyi State (2007 to 2015) and two-term governor of Ebonyi (2015 till date), all elected on the platform of the PDP.
“As we wish Governor Umahi all the best in his adventure, we call on the members of our party to remain calm and committed to the ideals of our party as no individual is bigger than the PDP.”
Recall that indication of Umahi dumping the opposition party PDP for the ruling party APC had been reported days ahead of his official defection.
