In affront to Wike and his allies, PDP’s BoT backs Ayu to stay in office till 2023

Against the demand by Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike and his group, the Board of Trustees (BoT) of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Friday agreed with the National Chairman of party’s Sen. Iyorchia Ayu that he can stay in office till after the 2023 general elections.

Wike has been at the vanguard of calls for Ayu to quit office in compliance with the rotation or zoning policy of the party after the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate.

Ayu and Atiku are from the Northern part of the country. But the Rivers State governor who had repeatedly accused Ayu of corruption want him to vacate office for a member of the party from the Southern part of the country to take over in accordance with the zoning principle of PDP

While hosting some members of the party from Cross River in Port Harcourt last Thursday, the Rivers State Governor had insisted that refusal to cede the PDP national chairman position to the South, will be a recipe for crisis in the party to continue to fester.

He also noted that Ayu had promised that he will step down if a northerner emerged as the presidential candidate of the party for the 2023 presidential election before he was made the party’s national chairman.

“He (national chairman) said, if the presidential candidate comes from the north, he will resign , which means he has had this in mind. Now, the thing has come to reality, now resign, no. And people are saying go and talk to Wike.

“I’ve accepted the Presidential candidate, I have accepted the Vice Presidential candidate, what’s the problem again. You, fulfil your part. Let the South have something, that is all I’m preaching. You cannot have presidential candidate, national chairman, director general of the campaign.”

He also rejected the argument that Ayu should be allowed to stay in office until the end of the 2023 election.

“This is period that power game is being played. If you don’t have it now, forget it. If anybody tells you, let (Iyorchia) Ayu resign after election is conducted, then you are a foolish person. This is the time decision is being made. This is the time the Presidential candidate, national chairman and the leader of campaign will sit, when election is won in February, before the President is sworn in, decisions would have been made.”

He also repeated the same argument at a nationally televised media chat on Friday.

However, few hours after the media chat, the BoT of PDP dismisses call by Wike that Ayu should immediately vacate office.

Rather they supported members of the party who believed he should be allowed to stay on till the end of the 2023 election.

Acting Chairman, Sen. Adophus Wabara, disclosed this in a communiqué after the board’s reconciliation committee submitted its report to the BOT members on Friday in Abuja.

Wabara, who read the communique, called on the Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to review his appointments of members of the Campaign Council and other advisory appointments to make it all inclusive.

The board also called on all PDP leaders and persons close to them, to desist from making further inflammatory remarks or granting press interviews on the crisis rocking the party.

“We resolved: to call on the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum to convene a meeting of the forum without further delay.

“To call on all the leaders of the party to match words with action and where commitments are made to unconditionally fulfill same.

“To urge the National Chairman as an eminent leader to give a firm assurance that he would resign his position after the 2023 elections.

“In the same vein, the BoT Chairman has been authorized to offer apologies on behalf of all members who feel malign or aggrieved by the public statements made by its members across the country that has sharpen the current division in the party.”

Wabara said that the board would refer some of those recommendations to the National Executive Committee (NEC) for notice and appropriate action.

Earlier in his remarks at the board meeting, the former president of the Senate said the 2023 election was for PDP to win or lose if the party members were not united.

“So, the aim of this special committee primarily was to find a way of bringing everybody under this our big umbrella.

“No vote is too small. As a matter of fact, all votes are equal. But then when you start counting, that is what brings you victory,” Wabara said.

According to him, what the party need to get to the villa is sacrifices.

“If we do not get to the villa, we will be disappointing ourselves as a party, we will also be disappointing Nigerians.”

Wabara said after setting up the committee, members swinged into action to reconcile issues.

“We operated on the principle of give and take, sacrifice.

“We know that a lot of egos have been hurt on both sides but we should do all in our powers to ensure that we sheath our swords and then aim at the main thing,” Wabara said.

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