PDP crisis: More trouble as BoT faults Ayu’s refusal to call NEC meeting
The alleged delay by the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Iyorchia Ayu, in convening a meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee to deliberate on the report of the reconciliation panel set up by the Board of Trustees has irked members of the party’s advisory body.
This followed indications that Ayu was not ready to call a NEC meeting to deliberate on the BoT panel’s report, more than a week after it was submitted to him.
Recall that Governor Nyesom Wike and his Abia,Oyo, Enugu and Benue states counterparts -Okezie Ikpeazu, Seyi Makinde, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Samuel Ortom, respectively, were insisting that Ayu must resign from office over the alleged imbalance in the PDP leadership.
They said that Ayu had prior to the PDP elective convention in May promised to vacate his seat in the event of the emergence of a Presidential candidate from the North.
The party consequently set up a BoT committee to wade into the crisis between Wike and Ayu.
With Ayu showing no intent to honour his pledge, the Adolphus Wabara-led committee submitted a number of recommendations, one of which was that Ayu should commit to leaving his position after the 2023 elections.
In an interview with Sunday PUNCH on Saturday, a PDP BoT member, Bode George slammed Ayu for failing to honour his word, saying with or without a NEC meeting, the former Senate President should give peace a chance. He said, “The truth is that the BoT panel said because Ayu made a pronouncement that if the Presidential candidate comes to the North, he will resign; he should resign. His words should be his bond if he is honourable. He ought to be a distinguished Senator.
“What is so sacrosanct about his fixated belief that he must be the chairman of the party? If he drops dead today, won’t the party continue?
“I am told that the report was that Ayu should honour his promise and vacate his seat. I am told that it was the chairman of the committee, Adolphus Wabara who said Ayu should make a commitment that he would go after the elections.
‘’What do they expect us to go home and tell our people? Are they saying ‘vote for us first and we will give you the chairmanship of the party?’ What crap! If the reverse was the case and the North is in our position, having nothing to take home, will they be happy? What you cannot accept, don’t do to other people. Ayu is destroying the fabric of PDP.”
George also blamed the party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, urging him to “wake up now’’ because “he is now a national leader, having taken over the leadership of the party.”
The retired air commodore also noted that given the current state of affairs in the party, a time would come when NEC meetings would turn into a huge joke.
“We are gradually getting to a point where when they call meetings, only one zone will attend,” he declared, even as he gave notice of retirement from partisan politics. Punch
