For calling his supporters “children,” Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has described the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, as arrogant and an ingrate.

He said the people that Ayu so described brought him from nothing and placed him in the position he currently occupies.

The governor made the comment during the commissioning of Omerelu Internal roads in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.

His comment was in response to Ayu’s statement where he said the people calling for his resignation are children.

At their meeting in London, last Thursday, the governor and his team told Atiku Abubakar that they would only negotiate with him for his support if Ayu steps down and is replaced by a candidate from the southern zone of the country.

Calls have since followed the meeting – asking that Ayu resigns as he promised before the party’s primary in June.

But in his response, Ayu said he was elected for a tenure of four years and is yet to complete a year.

“I co-founded the PDP in Nigeria and some boys who don’t know how we struggled and what we went through can’t cause problems for the party. When we started the PDP, we did not know those boys, they are children, and they don’t know why we founded the party. We will not agree with one person to come and destroy our party,” Ayu said.

In his address on Thursday, Wike challenged the PDP Chairman to prove himself as a man of honour and fulfil his promise to step down should the northern region produce the presidential candidate.

“Somebody said those of you who said the right thing must be done are boys; they are children. You can imagine what power can do. You can imagine how ingratitude…how people can be ingrates,” he said, faulting Ayu for failing to bring peace to the party.

“Ayu said we are children. Yes, the children brought you to be chairman of the party, the children brought you from the gutter to make you chairman. You were impeached and sacked. Arrogance cannot take you anywhere.”

He went ahead to challenge Ayu to secure the votes of his state, Benue, come 2023.

PT