The embattled national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, has directed the finance department to prepare an update of the income and expenditure account for presentation to the party’s national executive committee at its first-year anniversary of the present national working committee.
The directive followed the furore generated by corruption allegations against him as well wiring of over N120 million to some members of the NWC as housing allowance.
The governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike, had openly accused Ayu of pocketing N1 billion donated to the party by a stakeholder in Lagos.
Ayu in a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Simon Imobo-Tswam, admitted that he has weaknesses as a human being but that stealing is not one of them.
Imobo-Tswam said Ayu spoke while welcoming the forum of elected ex-officio members of the party who paid him a solidarity visit at the PDP national headquarters in Abuja.
He said the present NWC was being guided by the principles of transparency and accountability.
“The PDP was not founded to be in opposition. We founded the party to access power and develop the country. And my historic task is to return the party to power. I won’t be Chairman forever. For now my preoccupation is to return the party to power. I did not come to steal. My public service record is there.
“I have been a leader of the National Assembly. I have been a minister many times. As a person, I have many faults, but stealing is not one of them. I am conscious of my place in history, and the NWC that I lead is guided by the twin-principles of transparency and accountability.
“You may be reading many things and expecting my reaction. If we don’t always talk, it is because we want to maintain and build cohesion in the party. We don’t want continuous altercations in the PDP family. Our eyes are on the big picture that is winning the 2023 general elections.
“Therefore, let us not lose focus. Let us keep our eyes glued on the big picture. Everything else is secondary. We took office because there was crisis in the party.
“And we don’t want to keep moving from crises to crises. It’s not good for the party. We can’t be in perpetual crises, especially where the crisis is artificial,” he said.
On the money paid to NWC members, Ayu said: “The NWC met and discussed the issue of housing allowance. It was unanimously agreed that no bribe or any form of illegality took place. A statement has since been issued to that effect. The matter has now been laid to rest.”
Earlier in his remarks, the chairman of the forum, Mr. Yunana Iliya, said the members were at the party secretariat to express solidarity with the national chairman, and pledged their unalloyed loyalty to the Ayu-led NWC.
“We stand by the recent vote of confidence passed on you by the highest decision-making body of the party, the National Executive Committee (NEC), and we urge all party faithful to close ranks in PDP’s rescue work,” he added.
