PDP chairman Iyorchia Ayu given until Sep 28 to stand down for a southern replacement

FORMER Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deputy national chairman Chief Olabode George has insisted that party chairman Senator Iyorchia Ayu must resign before September 28 and make way for a southern candidate to take over.

In late June at its annual convention in Abuja, the PDP, elected Alhaji Abubakar as its flagbearer for next year's presidential election. Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State was a candidate in that election but he was beaten into second place and to make matters worse for him, he was not then picked as the party's running mate.

With Alhaji Abubakar opting to pick Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate, Governor Wike has been on the war path and there are now fears that he will dump the PDP. Among the primary demands of the Wike camp is that party chairman Senator Ayu stands down as it is unacceptable for him and the presidential candidate to both be northerners.

Chief George has insisted that a southern candidate must replace Senator Ayu before the beginning of the 2023 election campaigns scheduled for September 28. He said Senator Ayu’s refusal to fulfil his promise meant that members of the party in the south were of no importance.

 “Let me reiterate again that the will of the people must be respected and the six top offices in the country must be distributed equitably and fairly because PDP is not a private company. The office of the national chairman must come to the South before we commence the presidential campaign if victory is to be secured in the next general election.

“In May this year, we elected our presidential candidate in the person of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, setting aside the principle of rotation as enshrined in the constitution of our party in the interest of peace and unity. Today, we are in a situation in which our national chairman is from the same zone as our presidential candidate.

“Some people are insisting that there is nothing wrong with this present arrangement. Some have argued that this happened during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, where the candidate and the national chairman were from the same zone," Chief George added.