How Atiku, Ayu, Wike ,Others Gave Tinubu The Opportunity To Become President In 2023, By Bode George …Urges PDP Leaders To Unite Ahead Of 2027

A former deputy national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George, has explained how it’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, former governor of Rivers State and minister of federal capital territory, Nyesom Wike and other leaders of the Party gave President Bola Tinubu the opportunity to become president in 2023.

Chief George who spoke at an interactive section with journalists in Lagos on Thursday to celebrate his 79th birthday and reflect on the state of the nation, said the inability to follow the laid down zoning formula by the founding fathers of the PDP was responsible for its failure.

According to him, the desperation of Atiku and some other leaders led to its failure

He said: “I can boldly say that Atiku, Ayu and others gave the opportunity for Bola Tinubu to become the president today.If I may ask again: Why is Atiku so desperate? Some of us won’t allow your desperation to destroy this party. You can even leave PDP and go to your business partner in APC. At least, you did it before”

The Atona Oodua of the Source was particularly irked that the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara is being treated like an outcast by the party NWC.

He, however, warned that PDP may be heading to the abssy unless some is done urgently to arrest the drift.

Chief George appealed to some elders of the party such as Bamanga Tukur, former President Goodluck Jonathan, James Ibori, Donald Duke, Jerry Gana, Namadi Sambo, Jim Nwobodo and others not to keep quiet in the critical moment of the PDP.

Below is the full text of the press statement

TEXT OF A SPEECH BY CHIEF OLABODE IBIYINKA GEORGE, CON, FORMER DEPUTY NATIONAL CHAIRMAN OF THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP) AT A PRESS CONFERENCE IN LAGOS ON NOVEMBER 21, 2024.

Dear Elders of our great party,As I clock 79 years today, I want to use this opportunity to thank God for creating me in His own Image on November 21, 1945, to thank Nigeria for giving me the desired education, exposure, military training and to also express my appreciation to our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for giving me the platform to operate politically at state and national levels since 1998 when we formed this great party.

As a loyal party man who lives, thinks, talks, breathes and defends PDP (I have never left this party since it was formed), so today gives me a great opportunity to deliberate on the future of our party.Even as elders of the party are preparing to meet on November 28 in Abuja to chart the way forward, I owe it a duty to declare openly that all is not well with our party. In fact, our party is derailing.And this is unfortunate because the crisis in our party has further complicated the present tragedy in the socio-economic indices of our dear nation.

As a life member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) – the Upper Chamber and the conscience of our party – I am raising the alarm today that our party is at the precipice of a dangerous looming crisis, if pending critical party issues are not urgently addressed.While the party leadership is trying its best to ensure that all members have a sense of belonging, some ‘desperados’ are doing everything possible to thwart their efforts.

It is disheartening that the PDP, the bastion of civility, humility, decorum, harmony and respect for the rule of law since 1998 when it was formed by our elders such as Chief Solomon Lar, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Bola Ige (who wrote the constitution of the party), Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Chief Sunday Afolabi, and others who did not allow personal interests to overshadow the collective interests of the party, I wonder why some few characters are now dancing on the graves of some of these elders.

Today, our founding fathers who have gone to the world beyond will be crying in their graves because this party has become a shadow of itself due to selfish interests of some members.

It is a pity that some members, who are pretentious, are already working for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the build-up to the 2027 elections. They have one leg in PDP and another leg in APC. Such chameleonic characters are the ones trying to dictate the direction of this party. Their rhetorics are always marked by unwarranted claim to political and social standing, power and dominance, using meaningless language with an exaggerated style and importance to impress Nigerians and APC.

In the name of everything that is dear to our great party, this pretension must be stopped immediately by patriotic members of this party.Since the first elective convention of our party in 1999 when PDP was handed over to some of us as national officers, we have never had it this bad.If the PDP must rescue Nigerians from the vicious grip of APC in 2027, this must be a major agenda during our NEC meeting in Abuja.

At close to 80 years, I am not looking for any position but I strongly believe that PDP is the only party that can save this country. So, members of this great party must be ready to seize this opportunity to move this country forward.We must not allow disloyal elements to continue to use our pedestal for their selfish interests.

As a septuagenarian with a military background, my training tells me that disloyalty is a very grave offence.Disloyalty in our party should also be seen as a serious crime which should not be condoned.

Unless we are united, with equity, fairness and justice being the pedestal for any political decision taken, this party will be heading to disaster in 2027.If we want to win the 2027 presidential election, we should not allow ourselves to be divided and those with divisive tendencies should be told in clear language that ‘Enough is Enough’.We must change the narratives now so that we don’t embark on a suicide mission, a self-destructive journey for our party in 2027.

With the suffering in the land and the mismanagement of the economy by the ruling APC since 2015, Nigerians are waiting for us in 2027 to kick APC out of Aso Rock.

Our party left the Presidential Villa in 2015 and in the last nine years, Nigerians have seen the difference between the PDP and the APC.

My appeal today is to all members, young and old, from the North to the South, that we have another golden opportunity, before the next general elections in 2027, to bury our differences and put on our thinking caps.

We should do everything humanly possible to ensure that the PDP does not go into the dustbin of history in 2027.God forbid this should happen to our party.

So, this is the time for all elders and members of PDP to be concerned about the future of our great party and to react immediately to dangerous happenings in our party and the polity.

If I may ask those at the helm of affairs of our party today: What exactly is the offence of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State?

Let me ask again: What exactly is the offence of this gentleman that some elders of our party are trying to throw him under the bus because of political expediency?

What exactly is going on that some party members don’t feel bothered about happenings in Rivers State? Governor Fubara was helped by Former Governor Nyesom Wike to become the Number One citizen of the oil-bearing state. The Governor himself acknowledged this on several occasions.

Must the Governor now behave like a slave to his predecessor and other characters because of this concept of godfatherism which is a misnomer in our politics?

Why are some party members romancing his predecessor as if he is above everybody? He is in Abuja but wants to control what goes on in Rivers because he is being used by APC. If he doesn’t have his way, he is ready to adopt the Biblical Samson Suicidal Option. Did Governors before him behave this way?Has party discipline gone to the dogs in PDP?

I am getting closer to the eighth floor of life, so I am not afraid to speak my mind on any issue. I am not looking for anything. I was a Military Governor at 42 years of age (from 1987 to 1990). I later became the National Vice Chairman for the Southwest and Deputy National Chairman of our great party.

Why are we treating Fubara like an outcast? What exactly is his offence? As the leader of our party in Rivers State, why is he being treated with disdain?Somebody must help somebody to become president, governor, senator and others. Must he now become a fool, a jester or an errand boy just because he wants to satisfy his so-called godfather?Why is crisis becoming synonymous with PDP? In the build up to the 2023 presidential election, I shouted myself hoarse about the crisis which was started by the ambition of Atiku Abubakar, Iyorchia Ayu, David Mark and others. Pitiably, nobody listened.Where is Iyorchia Ayu today? He has simply disappeared.

I can boldly say that Atiku, Ayu and others gave the opportunity for Bola Tinubu to become the president today.If I may ask again: Why is Atiku so desperate? Some of us won’t allow your desperation to destroy this party. You can even leave PDP and go to your business partner in APC. At least, you did it before.

I am bold to say it that PDP is not the private enterprise of any individual. I sat with him for hours before the 2023 elections that the right thing should be done. He refused.Some of our members are already working for him because of 2027. Is he the only one in PDP? Why are we not looking in the direction of the Southern part of the country for a younger candidate?

Former Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, was Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum. When he left, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State took over from him. Don’t we have PDP governors from the South? Why is everything skewed against this part of the country?

During our last convention, Ayu was the chairman of the party. David Mark was the chairman of the convention. We all saw what they did to ensure Atiku emerged as the candidate. Why this desperation?In 2024, nobody is a fool.Elders of our party should rise above this shenanigan and talk sense into these characters. PDP cannot continue like this.

Why can’t we learn from our past mistakes? Is this party jinxed?Why can’t we tell all these troublemakers to go and sit down if they don’t want this party to move forward?The other day, Wike boasted openly and threatened Governors by saying ‘I will put fire in your state, I will put fire in your state’.

If the APC-led Federal Government that he is working for refused to sanction him for acts capable of causing insurrection in Nigeria, why can’t the PDP penalise him?

Pa Ekwueme and others started this party with G14 and G34. They laid a solid foundation for PDP.He contested and lost against former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Despite that, he did not threaten anybody. He did not work for the opposition. Instead, he ensured that this party remained strong till he died. And some of us promised him that we will not allow anything or anybody to destroy this party. But, what is happening today?

The National Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, has threatened to capture all states in Nigeria. We saw what they did in Edo on September 21. The same ‘capture instrumentality’ was deployed in Ondo on November 16. Ganduje is planning to deploy same strategy in Osun and Anambra before the 2027 general elections.

He did not say APC would ‘win’ these states but ‘capture’. Some of our party members are hailing him and these disloyal characters are still members of our party.

Is this a curse or is PDP jinxed?Look at the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmoud Yakubu? A professor who should enlighten his students, workers and Nigerians, he has messed up the electoral process and breached INEC rules more than any other official. Why are we not saying anything about that?This is not the party handed over to us by Papa Ekwueme and other elders. Something is seriously wrong with the membership of this party now and the earlier something is done about this anomaly, the better for the sanity of everybody and the development of this country.

A divided house can never be united. You cannot sleep soundly when you have snakes in your bedroom. That is exactly the situation in PDP today. Nigerians are angry and hungry. Instead of telling the APC the truth, some divisive, arrogant and haughty members are busy romancing the ruling party. And they are quick to refer to themselves as elder statesmen. Statesmen how? From where to where? Are they not shameless?

Instead of instigating crisis in our party, why are they not bold enough to defect to APC? Do they fear God at all?I reiterate my solidarity to the tenets of our party constitution and we should not allow the collective unity of this party to be fragmented. How we collectively address the issues at stake will be a major determinant of the fate of this party in months and years to come.It is our determination to ensure that the PDP returns to the Presidential Villa in Abuja on May 29, 2027 but, we can only go back to Aso Rock if we are united, not divided.

I spent 10 years as a top official of the National Working Committee (NWC) of our party, so I know how the system works. No member is big enough to hold the party to ransom. Never.

My advice to Wike is very simple: you are my son, a political son. I am appealing to him to cool off immediately. I know he was injured by friends during the last PDP Presidential contest. But, I am advising him as a father to please take it easy. Nobody is bigger than any party. Forget what happened in the past and let us work together in the interest of this party. As a Christian, please read Matthew 6v14 & 15. If you listen to my advice now, very soon, you will be glad you did.

To Atiku, my advice is this. He will be 81 in 2027 and he has been contesting for the presidency since 1993. This is the time for you to calm down and act like an elder. I appeal to you in the name of the Almighty Allah that you serve to take it easy and leave everything for posterity.Also, I am appealing to our party elders such as Papa Bamanga Tukur, Papa Jim Nwobodo, Papa Ahmadu Ali, Professor Jerry Gana, HE Jonah Jang, HE Peter Odili, HE James Ibori, President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, HE Arch. Victor Attah, HE Donald Duke, HE Okwesilieze Nwodo, HE Ibrahim Shema, HE Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Papa Saka Balogun, Papa Ebenezer Babatope, Papa Soboyede, Dr. Bello Haliru, Sen. Adolphus Wabara, HE Ahmed Makarfi and others not to keep quiet at this critical period. I call on the Chairman of the BoT to invite all the afore mentioned elders for a meeting on the way forward before the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the 28th November, 2024. We should all sit and talk to ourselves. We cannot afford to fail and disappoint our founding fathers.

We have seen how the APC-led presidency has continued to destroy the economy and burning the bridge that binds us together since 2015. Naira is falling everyday like a badly arranged pack of cards. A litre of fuel is now beyond the reach of the poor.PDP was in power for 16 years and it was not as bad as this. APC has been in power for nine years and look at the mess in the country.

Let me state categorically that, Nigerians are waiting for us in 2027 but we must put our house in order.We are where we are today because of self-inflicted crisis. We should bury our individual ambition now and not allow the PDP to crumble. Elders of the party should tell some of these funny characters to cool off and think of our National interest instead of their personal interest.

I have no iota of tribalism in my blood, just like my maternal granduncle, Uncle Papa Herbert Healas Macaulay, did, I stand to fight for inclusiveness for all Nigerians in the political process of this country especially in this party where some of us have suffered great injustice, like me incarcerated for committing no crime.

As leaders, we must not allow anybody to destroy our party because PDP is the only true national party. The APC is just a mere congregation of strange bed fellows.

A Yoruba adage says ‘the flood has the intention of destroying a house but the landlord will not allow it’.

Finally let me appeal to committed members and elders of our great party to remain steadfast, stand tall and keep our party united because anything else will be suicidal.

Thank you for listening and May our Almighty God continue to pilot our Nation in the right direction.

CHIEF OLABODE IBIYINKA GEORGE

ATONA OODUA OF YORUBALAND

NOVEMBER 21, 2024