How Ayu Can Be Removed As PDP National Chairman – Atiku

Mr. Atiku Abubakar, PDP Presidential Candidate

*Ayu Must Go, Says Makinde As South-West PDP Meets Atiku

By Channelstv.com

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday expressed his view on the call for the resignation of Senator Iyorchia Ayu as the National Chairman of the party.

Atiku, who led other leaders of the party to Ibadan on an interactive session with stakeholders of the PDP, said that the call for the re-composition of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) was not impossible, but only when the constitution of the party has been amended to accommodate such demand.

“The Peoples Democratic Party is the oldest political party in Nigeria since the return of democracy and even before then,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by his media adviser, Paul Ibe. “It is a party that has laid down rules and regulations.

“I have been a member of the party since when it was formed, and I am still a member of the party up to the point of what it has grown to become.”

Amid the increased calls for the resignation of the party’s national chairman, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, while speaking on behalf of the South-West PDP, demanded that Ayu step aside.

In his response, the vice president said, “There is nothing any individual can do to change the outlook of the National Working Committee of the PDP. The PDP is a party where there are laid down rules and regulations.

“What Governor Makinde is asking for is possible only when we have amended our party’s constitution. As things stand today, no single individual has the power to tamper with the NWC of the party. Doing so will be illegal and it will be against our rules in the party.”

According to the presidential candidate, Nigerians will not trust the PDP to govern by the tenets of rule of law if it takes such arbitrary action against itself.

The south-west stakeholders’ interactive session was attended by leaders of the PDP across the six states of the geopolitical zone with a common resolution to ensure victory for the PDP in next year’s general election.

PDP leaders who attended the interactive session included the chief host, Governor Makinde; PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu; former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose; Osun State Governor-elect, Senator Ademola Adeleke; as well as the PDP governorship candidate in Lagos State, Olajide Adediran, and his running mate, Funke Akindele.

Others are Atiku, the PDP vice presidential candidate and Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa; PDP Governors’ Forum Chairman and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; former Cross River State governor, Liyel Imoke; PDP Deputy National Chairman (North), Umar Damagum, and PDP National Deputy Chairman (South) Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, among others.

Meanwhile, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Wednesday demanded that the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Iyorchia Ayu, must resign.

Makinde demanded Ayu’s resignation when the South-West PDP stakeholders met with the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in Ibadan, the state capital.

The governor said Ayu must step down so that southerners will feel “fully included” in the party’s leadership.

South-West PDP Wants Ayu To Resign As National Chairman, Says Makinde pic.twitter.com/CJ4kKY8NjX

For weeks, Makinde’s ally, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, demanded that Ayu step down for a southerner.

Ayu was slated to commence a two-week trip overseas today (Wednesday). The PDP national chairman recently appealed to the acting Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, Adolphus Wabara, to help resolve the crisis in the party by reaching out to aggrieved members of the party.

The division in the PDP escalated after Atiku from Adamawa State won the party’s presidential primary in May. An aspirant, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, at the venue of the primary stepped down for Atiku, an action that riled Wike.

File combo of Oyo state governor, Oluwaseyi Makinde and PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu

While Atiku scored 371 votes, Wike came second with 237 votes. The Rivers governor was reportedly miffed again when Atiku snubbed him to announce Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate.

Wike also insisted that Ayu (from Benue State) step down for a southerner, arguing that northerners should not hold on to both positions.

In a move to resolve the lingering problems in the party, Walid Jibrin (from Nasarawa State), resigned as PDP BoT Chair last week and Wabara from Abia State replaced him in an acting capacity.

Ayu had said members of the National Working Committee would visit Wike in Port Harcourt “for full reconciliation”.