The internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has shown no sign of abating anytime soon as the National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu has chided Governor Nyeson Wike of Rivers State, saying no one can make him resign from his position.
Ayu who knocked Wike over the recent call for his resignation said it is unjustifiable.
According to him, the call for his resignation by Wike and his loyalists is a mere ranting.
He demanded to know where Wike and his loyalists were when he and other chieftains formed the PDP, according to him.
Ayu made this known while speaking during an interview with BBC Hausa on Wednesday.
Ayu insisted that the presidential candidacy of Atiku Abubakar does not in any way affect his position as the PDP National Chairman.
In his words, “Wike and members of his camp calling for my resignation are mere noise makers. They are children who were not around when we laboured to form the PDP.
“Even if the Presidential Candidate had come from Benue State, it would not have justified the call for my resignation.I stood for election as National Chairman and won for a four year term.I am yet to spend even a year and someone is calling for my resignation.
“I stood for election and I won the election and I am fixing the party, I have not stolen anything, I have not committed any offence, we would not allow one person to come and spoil the party for us with frivolous calls and conditions.
“I was elected as PDP chairman for a four year term and I’m not up to one year, so the call for my resignation is uncalled for. The election of Abubakar Atiku as the PDP presidential candidate cannot affect my election as National Chairman, even if the candidate is from Benue state, I stood for election and I was voted for by Nigerians.
“All that he is doing does not affect me because I know I am fixing the party, I am doing my work diligently, I have not committed any offense, I have not stolen any money, so there is no reason for my resignation When we started the PDP all those ones were children, they were not there, we will not allow one person to become a spoiler, this is our country, so all that is expected of us is to fix the country, provide security and dividends of democracy when we take over power in 2023.
“Ibrahim Shakarau’s return to PDP is a welcome development, he is a straight forward person, he left his party to come to our party because he knows PDP is the one that will fix the country. Senator Shekarau that has returned and his men would be accommodated in the party’s activities in the state accordingly because they are all PDP men and women now,” he said.
The New Diplomat had reported that since the conclusion of the PDP presidential primary election which left Wike aggrieved, some of his loyalists have demanded for the resignation of Ayu on the grounds that the National Chairman and the presidential candidate of the party cannot come from the North.
The loyalists of the governor, as parts of the conditions to settle the crisis in the party demanded that Ayu should resign and pave way for a chairman of Southern extraction. This according to them, will ensure equity and fairness in the party’s dealings.
However, the camp loyal to Atiku have since rejected that call, arguing that Ayu can only resign once Atiku is elected President in 2023.
They have also argued that the party cannot risk removing its National Chairman few months to the 2023 General elections.
