PDP Crisis: Group backs Wike, urges Atiku to prevail on Ayu to resign

A group, Alliance for Social Justice in Nigeria, has urged the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, to prevail on the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to resign his position for the sake of the party’s stability.

The group’s position is contained in a communique issued after its congress on Saturday in Abuja.

It expressed fear that the leadership crisis in the PDP could weaken the party to the detriment of democracy in Nigeria.

“A strong opposition party is a foundation for the sustenance of true democracy, and so a crisis-ridden and weakened PDP that may not be able to check the ruling APC is inimical to the growth of Nigeria’s democracy,” the group said.

The communique was signed by the group’s President, Sylvanus Ukpong; Vice President, Aliyu Oboshi; Secretary General, Aniche Paulina; and the spokesperson, Jesse Bello.

“We view the PDP crisis as self-inflicted because the party leaders were irrational in the first instance when they threw open the party’s presidential ticket to all the zones in Nigeria instead of zoning it to the South since the current President Muhammadu Buhari is from the North.

“We strongly believe that having a President from the South in 2023 can help reduce ethnic distrust and promote national unity in our dear country.

“Since the PDP had already produced the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its Presidential Candidate, we consider it not too much a sacrifice if Senator Iyorchia Ayu resigns as the National Chairman of the PDP to placate the South and bring peace and stability to the party before the 2023 elections,” the group said in the communique.

The group said the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike’s position in the PDP crisis is “righteous”.

“Governor Nyesom Wike and the South is not the ultimate beneficiary of the cause the Rivers Governor and others are pursuing, it is democracy and Nigeria as a whole that stands to benefit the most from it.”

They commended Mr Wike for his “courage, energy, and focus”, and urged him not to give up his demand for Mr Ayu’s resignation.

They also commended members of Mr Wike’s group, such as Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State; former Governors Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo, Ayo Fayose of Ekiti, Donald Duke of Cross River, Ibrahim Dakwambo of Gombe, and Jonah Jang of Plateau.

“We advise Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State to support this worthy cause for the sake of justice and equity.

“The PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar and other leaders of the PDP should prevail upon Senator Iyorchia Ayu to resign without further delay.

“We urge other well-meaning Nigerians from North and South to support Governor Nyesom Wike and his group.

“We may be compelled to approach the court on this matter as Nigerians who are concerned with the negative impacts of the crisis,” the group said.

PDP crisis
The PDP has been enmeshed in a leadership crisis after its presidential primary in May, with Mr Wike and others demanding Mr Ayu’s resignation to achieve a “regional balance” since Messrs Ayu and Atiku are both from the north. But Mr Ayu has insisted he would not resign because he was elected for a four-year term.

The Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BOT), Walid Jibrin, who is from Nasarawa State in the north, resigned recently, apparently to placate Mr Wike and his group.

The Deputy Chairman, Adolphus Wabara, a former president of the Senate, from Abia State in the South-east, is now the acting BOT chairman.

However, Mr Wike’s camp, not impressed with Mr Jibrin’s resignation, has insisted Mr Ayu must step down.

Mr Wike said Mr Atiku visited him in his Abuja residence shortly after the primary and told him “look, governor, Ayu will go” because the presidential candidate and the national chairman cannot come from the same zone.

Governor Wike at the Friday media chat in Port Harcourt insisted that Mr Ayu must leave office for a southerner to ensure “inclusivity” in the PDP.
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