The governor spoke yesterday at the Aper Aku stadium in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, during the home-coming celebration and interdenominational church service in honour of Dr. Ayu.

The opposition party has been hit by a gale of defections in recent times, losing three of its governors, many senators, members of the House of Representatives, a former Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara and many other high-ranking politicians to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor said he would challenge the PDP helmsman if he failed to deliver quality leadership that would take the party to greater heights.  

“We believe you are somebody who can handle the party. If the governors are not united, unite the governors for the progress of the party. It’s the truth.

“Let me tell you something that today we have lost focus in the National Assembly so we have to put our party together to make sure the members of National Assembly speak with one voice and be the opposition party that we are supposed to be.

“We don’t want to have defections of our members in the National Assembly. We don’t want further defections of members of our party. We want you to use your experience, as people have said, to bring back even those who have left the party because we know there is no opportunity on the other side.

“But if you are not doing well, Mr. Chairman, I will shout. I will say this is not what we expected from you. Do not be distracted about who will become the presidential aspirant of the party. Go and focus on rebuilding the party, once the party is rebuilt, I can assure you we will have somebody who will stand out and Nigerians will vote for that person,” Wike said. 

You have our support — Saraki

In his speech, a former president of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, assured Ayu, that the North Central zone would support him to achieve his purpose in office.

“Any political project that has its foundation from Benue, that the journey starts in Benue State, from Makurdi here, always results to victory and success. This is a fact; it’s factual. 

“Anytime PDP starts a journey and it starts here and we involved a son or daughter of Benue State, we always coast home to victory. I’m confident that what we started here today (yesterday) in Makurdi, will lead us to victory,” Saraki said.

PDP will take over 25 states — Ayu

On his part, PDP National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, assured that the party would win 25 states in the off-season and 2023 general elections.

The off-season governorship elections would be held in Ekiti and Osun states in 2022, while the general elections would be held in 2023.

He said, “We’re determined to reclaim at least 25 states in this country. We are determined to claim the two National Assembly seats – Senate and House of Representatives. 

“We will stop the drift of people who migrate from the PDP to other parties. We shall move on a serious membership drive for more people into the party.

“Nigeria is not going to break up. Nigeria will remain united, productive, respected and be at the forefront of world affairs.

“Every single member of the PDP will be carried along. It is the only way we shall rebuild our party. The PDP will fight tooth and nail to win Ekiti and Osun elections. Those mistakes which made us lose election in the past will be corrected.”

Plot to hoodwink Nigerians will fail — APC chieftain 

One of the top contenders to the office of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mallam Saliu Mustapha, however, said the “plot” by the PDP to hoodwink Nigerians to return the party to power will fail.

Reacting to Ayu’s inaugural speech on Friday, where he bashed the APC-led government and asked the party to prepare handover notes ahead of the 2023 polls, Mustapha said PDP was largely responsible for the mess President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC have been cleaning up in the last six years.

“Like many stakeholders in the ruling party, I find it shocking that the new PDP chairman used his inaugural speech to rehash the lies and innuendos of the previous leadership of the opposition party.

“But contrary to Ayu’s attempt to revise history, President Buhari inherited a country that was virtually on life support with no fewer than 27 states unable to pay salaries and pension in spite of a historic oil proceeds in the preceding years,” he said.

Mustapha, a former Deputy National Chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), said PDP as a party has nothing better to offer Nigerians in 2023.