Why blame INEC when you failed to follow same constitution on zoning in the party — Wike to PDP

Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike has vowed to chase away vampires and buccaneers from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and rebuild the party.

Wike said irrespective of the antics of those, who fragmented the party in a bid to achieve their inordinate ambition, he and other like minds will rebuild PDP into a formidable political party.

He spoke during the inauguration of the 10km internal roads constructed by his administration in Igwuruta town of Ikwerre Local Government Area of the State on Thursday.

The leader of the G-5 Governors said after the general election, those who violated the provisions of the PDP constitution for rotation of elective and appointive offices would be shown their way out of the party.

He said: “We have finished the first phase of the war, we are going to the second phase of the war. In the second phase of the war, we must chase out the buccaneers and vampires. We are going to chase them out of the party, take our party and rebuild our party.party.

“These people left our party in 2014/2015 and our party lost in the election. Again, they have come back, our party has lost again. They have destroyed our party. We are going to chase them out of our party. They have no role to play in our party.”

Wike said it was hypocritical for the national leadership of the PDP, which blatantly jettisoned provisions of Section 7 (3) C of the party’s constitution that recommends rotation of elective and appointive offices, to accuse the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of not following its guidelines for the conduct of the 2023 general election.

“You are blaming INEC chairman, he did not follow guideline. You, did you follow our own constitution? He who seeks equity must come with clean hands. Whatever you sow you will reap,” Wike said.

The Governor reiterated that by breaching Section 7 (3) C of the PDP constitution, the national leadership of the PDP committed anti-party that led to its humiliating loss in the presidential election.

Wike said: “I am an apostle of power shift. I fought for it. I have no apology to anybody. I said power must shift from the north to the south. I did not commit any anti-party. I fought for the unity of the country. Those of them at the national level in PDP committed anti-party.

“When people abandon the provisions of the constitution of their party that talks about zoning of elective and appointive offices, what is more anti-party than that? You that refuse to obey the constitution of your party because of impunity; because you think you have the number, so you refuse to obey the provisions of the constitution of your party.”

The Governor maintained the loss suffered by the PDP in the presidential election was avoidable if not for the obstinacy of those, who erroneously believed that certain cabal in Aso Rock Villa would install them.

The governor said Rivers had reaffirmed its commitment to the PDP by winning all the three senatorial and nine out of ten House of Representative seats declared so far by INEC in the State.

He also took a swipe at his predecessor and immediate past Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, whom he accused of stroking conflict between the people of Rivers and their Igbo neighbours.

The Governor said Amaechi’s attempt to reintroduce the long-forgotten issue of the abandoned property for his inordinate political agenda smacked of mischief.