Dino Malaye… May fallout with Atiku
There are signs that a disagreement between the Spokesman of the PDP flag bearer, Senator Dino Malaye and his principal, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, may be in the offing.
Atiku is believed to have surrendered in the face of increasing calls for Iyorchia Ayu, National Chairman of the party to quit.
But Malaye who ought to take a cue from his principal who is seeking to cure the imbalance that has arisen within the party, following his arrival on the stage, is kicking against Ayu’s removal.
Obviously reacting to reports that PDP Governors may have agreed to move against Ayu, Malaye hinted that the National Chairman would not quit because Governors on the party’s political platform sponsored his election.
Malaye is insisting that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State is behind the move to uproot Ayu from office.
The Senator may be right in his assumption, but the unity of the party and its victory at the forthcoming polls is however driving the Ayu-must-go campaign.
Facts that are emerging suggest party leaders across the country are piling pressure on Atiku to let Ayu step aside.
When Wike and Atiku met in London part of the agreement purportedly reached was that Ayu would be accommodated at the governmental level when Atiku wins the election in exchange for his removal from office
A party man who is not amused by what is happening said Dino is ranting for selfish reasons.
“He lost the party’s Senatorial ticket to a rival who is believed to have had the back of Wike”, the party chieftain revealed.
“But Dino should look at the bigger picture, he should be thinking about how we will win election for him, Atiku and the rest of us”, he noted.
Agitated, Malaye insisted that PDP Governors can’t in any way remove Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman.
Atiku under pressure to allow Iyorchia Ayu to step aside.
Atiku and Wike held a closed-door meeting in London last Friday with a few of their close allies in attendance.
At the centre of the talks was what to do to find the way out of the crisis that is rocking the PDP.
Part of the agreement reached during the meeting was the understanding that Ayu would go to pave the way for peace to reign.
They are believed to have gone ahead to agree Ayu would serve in the new government when the party wins.
Melaye however thundered, “I want to start by saying that the PDP Governors were the ones who introduced and picked Iyorchia Ayu.
“You cannot give birth to a child in the morning and come back in the afternoon and disown the child, you are not going to be good parents.
“We didn’t choose Ayu; the governors did and that is why Ayu was the consensus candidate.
“Did they field anybody against Ayu from the South during the convention? All of them including Governor Wike endorsed Ayu on convention day.
“Not alone did they endorse Ayu, they funded that convention! “So, how can you in December give us a product, in June, July, you want the product to leave?”
On his part, Governor Nyesom Wike is optimistic that something will happen soon.