The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) team of Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike withdrew from the campaign council of the party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
After their tumultuous meeting at Wike’s country residence in Obio-Akpor on Wednesday morning, the team members promised not to participate in Atiku’s campaign activities unless the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, resigned.
The Wike-supporting party members maintained that an agreement with Atiku couldn’t be reached until Ayu resigned so that an acting chairman from the South could oversee Atiku’s campaign.
A resolution was delivered by Chief Olabode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, on behalf of the disgruntled party stalwarts, who included party founders, governors, former ministers, and other party officials.
They said that because Ayu’s leadership threatened the party’s unity and structure, their stance was unassailable.
Reading the resolution, George said: “Senator Iyorchia Ayu must resign as the National Chairman of the party for an acting Chairman of the Southern Nigerian extraction to emerge and lead the party on the national campaign.
“Consequently, we resolve not to participate in the campaign council in whatever capacity until the resignation of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu”.
They also claimed that Ayu’s actions had jeopardized the party’s presidential primary on May 28 and 29.
Senator Jonah Jang, a former governor of the Plateau, compared Ayu to a terrible referee who helped one side score a goal during a football game and then blew the whistle.
Jang said: “For a National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu to go and embrace Sokoto Governor, Aminu Tanbuwal, calling him the hero of the convention meant that there was a private arrangement that was done with Tambuwal to shortchange other contestants including Governor Wike.
“Here was a referee, who helped one of his sides to score a goal and then blew the whistle. This is not what we formed the PDP to do for Nigerians. Therefore, we unequivocally ask that Ayu must step down”.
They claimed that the reason they were supporting Wike was due to fairness and justice in the party, not because he had lost the presidential primary or because he had been passed over for the vice presidential running mate position.
Prof. Jerry Gana, a former minister of information, stated that if the party wanted to reconstruct Nigeria, it should have the guts to do so first.
“You cannot build on a faulty foundation. This call for the chairman to step down or resign is not because any of us is aggrieved but because we believe it is important to ensure a a just, fair, principled and constitutional structure for the party. If we want to restructure Nigeria, we should have the courage to restructure our party”.
Oyo Governor, Seyi Makinde, said: “We hope that the powers that be listen to the voice of reason and do the needful”.
