Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, sank into a deeper crisis on Wednesday as Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike’s team reportedly pulled out of the campaign council of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The group, which has been relentlessly calling on the party’s national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, to resign for a Southerner to take over to strike a balance, also resolved that an acting Chairman from the South should lead the party on the national campaign, going into the elections.
Despite a confidence vote passed on Ayu by the party’s national executive committee, the group insisted that the he must resign for them to rescind their decision.
The group made its position known in a resolution read by a former deputy national chairman of the party, Chief Bode George, after a long meeting held at Governor Wike’s private residence, near Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
It was gathered that members of the Rivers State Governor’s team vowed not to play any role in Atiku’s campaign ahead of the 2023 general elections.
They said there was no going back on the call for Ayu’s resignation as the national chairman of the party.
Roll call at the meeting included aggrieved party leaders, including founding members of the party, governors, former ministers.
The meeting, which held at Wike’s private residence in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, came less than a week after the party appointed some members of the group into Atiku’s presidential campaign committee.
Some members of the group include Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who was named as the Vice Chairman (South) of the same committee; while the group’s leader, Wike, was named a member of the committee.
After their Wednesday’s meeting, the group insisted that the party’s chairmanship position must come to the South for balance, justice, and equity in the party, hence they will not play any role in Atiku Abubakar’s campaign council.
They maintained that their position was not negotiable as the chairmanship of Ayu undermined the unity and constitution of the party.
While accusing Ayu of compromising the May 28 and 29 presidential primaries of the party through his conduct, the members said the published presidential campaign council list was tantamount to putting the cat before the horse.
George while reading the resolution said they were worried over the division in the PDP, saying the parry’s internal mechanism should brace up to the challenges.
“We resolve that we are deeply concerned by the division in our party. We are aware that over the years our party has developed conflict resolution mechanisms that guarantee inclusiveness.
“The published presidential campaign council list translates to putting the cat before the horse. The pertinent issue remains the resolution of the leadership which is a departure of 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.”
It was learnt that PDP chieftains at the meeting included Makinde, former Governors Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo, Ayo Fayose of Ekiti, Donald Duke of Cross River, Ibrahim Dakwambo of Gombe, and Jonah Jang of Plateau, and a former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke.
Others are a former Information Minister, Prof Jerry Gana, South-south Chairman of the PDP, Dan Orbih, and a former deputy Speaker of the House Representative, Chibudom Nwuche among others.
Members of the group vowed not to participate in the campaign committee in whatever capacity except Ayu leaves his position for a southerner.
The party has been enmeshed in leadership crisis after the presidential primary of the party where Atiku floored Wike and other aspirants in the race to emerge the party’s presidential candidate.
Wike’s group is demanding the resignation of the national chairman but Mr Ayu has insisted he was elected for a four year term.
They Ayu’s resignation to achieve a “regional balance”, since the party chairman and Mr Atiku are both from the north.
Already, the party’s Chairman of Board of Trustees (BoT), Walid Jibrin, who is also from Nasarawa State in the North, resigned.
The Deputy Chairman, Adolphus Wabara, a former senate president from Abia State in the South-east is acting as the BoT chairman.
However, the Wike’s camp is not impressed with with Jibrin’s resignation, insisting it is Ayu who should vacate his position.
The PDP is yet to respond to the latest decision by the its members loyal to the Rivers governor to back out from Atiku’s campaign.
The party’s spokesperson, Debo Ologunagba, could be reached for comments.
Both Atiku and Ayu are currently outside Nigeria.
Another ally of Wike and former Plateau State Governor, Senator Jonah Jang, lampooned Ayu for embracing Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tanbuwal, and called him the hero of the convention.
Jang said the action of Ayu showed that the outcome of the primary was preplanned to short-change the other contestants.
He said, “For a National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu to go and embrace Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, 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.”
The pro-Wike group said their support for Wike was not because he lost the presidential primary or because he was not chosen as the running mate to Atiku but in the interest of equity and justice in the party.
On his part, former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, said, “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 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 State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said: “We hope that the powers that be listen to the voice of reason and do the needful.”
