- Say South Should Have PDP National Chair
A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, among other top chieftains of the party are demanding the immediate resignation of National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu to enable the party spread its support base ahead of next year’s general polls in fairness.
This demand has put the PDP, a party still being roiled by 2023 crisis, in fresh hot soup as top party leaders from the South are insisting the North cannot have the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the National Chairmanship position at the same time.
George, who expressed the same feelings as some Southwest PDP leaders, said there was a need for the region to be given a sense of belonging as all the key positions in the party were being occupied by northerners.
“Ayu needs to resign as chairman immediately while the South-West gets the position in the spirit of fairness. I cannot campaign for the party in the South-West in an atmosphere where there is no fairness. What will I tell our people?”
George, who canvassed that the PDP could pick an interim chairman from the Southwest just for the purpose of fairness, argued that refusing to take Nigeria’s diversity into consideration would make the PDP no better than the APC which is pushing a Muslim/Muslim ticket.
“NEC can appoint an acting chairman from the South-West in order to give the region a sense of belonging. Ayu promised to leave office once the PDP produces a northern Presidential candidate. For the sake of fairness, he needs to step down immediately.
“The PDP as presently constituted does not reflect Nigeria’s diversity. The North produced the Presidential candidate, the national chairman and the BoT chairman and they want the South to accept this. Would the North have accepted this if it was the other way around?” George was reportedly quoted as saying.
Many in the party were said to have expressed concerns over PDP’s chances in 2023, following the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to pick its Presidential candidate from the South-West in the person of Bola Tinubu. Some had argued that the PDP would also need an influential politician from the region to be the party’s chairman in order to get a sizeable number of votes from the Southwest.
However, sources in the National Working Committee of the PDP said removing Ayu now would be counter-productive ahead of the 2023 Presidential Campaign and elections that’s expected to be mouthwatering.
Meanwhile, there are also demands from the camp of Governor Wike for Ayu to resign as the party’s chairman.
Wike, who is still not impressed by Atiku’s peace moves, following his failure to pick him as running mate, was said to have handed the PDP presidential candidate a list of demands, including a condition that the National Chairman, Ayu must be replaced with a Southerner.
