More pressure has been mounted towards effecting the removal of Iyorchia Ayu, national chairman, People’s Democratic Party, PDP, with the latest coming as a checklist presented to the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to the effect that he must back the removal of the embattled chairman.
Though details are scanty as to when and by whom the said list was sent, quite a number of people within the party hierarchy confirm this development to the newspaper.
Ayu, perceived as largely partial could not pretend about his preference for one of the aspirants the former vice president faces hurdles of distrust from his friends in the PDP, many of whom are governors.
He has been accused of needless bias for Atiku. He is also said to be the architect of the party’s Decision to jettison zoning all in the bid to favour a northern Candidate emerging as the presidential candidate of the party.
Not a few also recall that Ayu has been a silent critic of Nyisome Wike, governor of Rivers State and is believed to have surreptitiously worked to undermine the governor’s growing influence in the party.
Ayu’s body language hasn’t helped matters also. For instance, not a few aggrieved members of the party still remember how the party chairman was caught on camera hugging Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto State governor, and calling him ‘hero of the day after the governor at the last minute stepped down for Atiku.
Tambuwal had been an ally of Wike, and pundits had predicted that the governor might throw in his lot for the Rivers Governor in reciprocity for what Wike did for him in 2019 as a presidential aspirant of PDP.
“In short, most members of the party, especially governors under the PDP insist that Ayu must go.
“The composition of party hierarchy doesn’t even favour him anymore, to say the least,” explained a party source to Truthlive.net.
With the zoning matter reaching fever pitch before the PDP convention, last year, there had been reasons to believe that Ayu’s emergence as PDP chairman automatically meant that the presidency will go south of the country.
There were strong reasons to believe that. The party’s constitution supports the notion, mirroring the larger provisions in Nigeria’s constitution that provided for geopolitical balancing in appointments into offices.
Even Ayu admits the possibility of his stepping down as a party chairman. He was once quoted as saying, for instance,
” Party positions are not tied to the position of executive and legislative positions.
“However, I’m a very democratic person and I will do everything to promote the interest and image of my party.
” If the PDP says I should step down after a presidential candidate emerges and happens to be from the North, I will be very glad to do so because what we want is to take over the government and run the government in the interest of Nigerians.
” So, I’ll sacrifice anything to ensure that my party wins.”
As learned, members of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party are said to have brought this lacuna before the party and Atiku, himself, especially after the convention debacle that berthed the emergence of The former vice president.
The agitation received more urgency after Atiku picked Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State governor, against recommendations from sizeable members of the PDP governors favouring Wike. Again, Ayu was fingered in this plot.
As learned, the party chairman had prevailed on Atiku and some influential party members to go for Okowa, stating that Wike may be difficult to control as VP.
“There was no basis for such thinking because the Rivers governor has demonstrated loyalty, while under former president, Goodluck Jonathan, and is still loyal to the party,” a source from the NWC said.
Not a few people, however, believe that the party has to resolve the imbalance in the party hierarchy before the election begins next year.
Our investigation revealed that replacing the chairman, as far as the larger members of the party are concerned, might be one of the inroads to a genuine reconciliation in the party ahead of 2023.
[…] Truthlive.net has reported that pressure is mounting on the embattled chairman to leave the stage for the party to move forward. […]