PDP: Ekiti, Oyo chapters pass vote of confidence on party chairman, Iyorchia Ayu

Ogun state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has passed a vote of confidence on the National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.

Ogun PDP members said they are debunking  a claim by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State that the entire Southwest stakeholders had called for Ayu’s resignation.

Makinde had clamoured for the removal of  Ayu at the Southwest Stakeholders Interactive Session with the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar in Ibadan on Wednesday.

In a statement made available to newsmen on Friday, the PDP Publicity Secretary in Ogun State, Akinloye Bankole, said “the leaders disassociate Ogun State chapter of the party from the pronouncement of Governor Seyi Makinde and affirm that there was no prior meeting nor agreement relating to such pronouncement.”

According to Bankole, the call for  Ayu’s resignation “is ill-timed and dangerous for the wellbeing of the party especially as the political mobilization and campaigns for 2023 general elections build up across the nation.”

He said, “Ogun PDP strongly insists that the sanctity of the party constitution cannot be slaughtered on the altar of narrow individuals’ whims and caprice.”

Bankole posited that the party, at this crucial stage of its democratic existence, requires full concentration to remain focused on its goal of rescuing and repositioning the country for prosperity and abundance.

He said any kind of distractions should be done away with at this point in time for the well-being of the party.

The spokesman stated further that the Ogun PDP leadership is fully committed to the presidential aspiration of Atiku and his running mate, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

Meanwhile ,the Ekiti State chapter of the  PDP has also given their position on the matter.

They said that they are giving their unflinching support to Ayu, presidential candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku and his running mate Ifeanyi Okowa.

They singled out party’s National Chairman, Ayu for for providing credible leadership and direction for the PDP.

This was contained in a statement signed and released by the state’s Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Raphael Adeyanju, on Friday in Ado-Ekiti

The statement reads in part “The Ekiti State chapter of the PDP, after a critical review of the interactive session of our Presidential Candidate, His Excellency Abubakar Atiku with the party leaders and stakeholders of the party in the Southwest , in Ibadan on Tuesday, is convinced that the agitation for the resignation of the party’s National Chairman , Senator Iyorchia Ayu should be suspended in the best interest of the party.”

The Ekiti State chapter of the opposition party maintained that there is a great wisdom in the former Vice President’s response that Ayu’s resignation must be done in accordance with the party’s constitution, rules, regulations and practice.

Adeyanju stated that: “Our party believes in the sanctity of our constitution, we must therefore do everything to maintain this sanctity. Any action that undermines the spirit of the party’s constitution at this crucial stage can only be considered as a deliberate attempt to sabotage the next presidential election

“If we cannot respect our own rules, guidelines and constitution as a party how will Nigerians trust us to respect the constitution of the Federal Republic, if voted into office?

“We appreciate the real concern of our zonal leaders and their determination to protect the interest of members against any form of marginalization, but we must also consider the fact that we also have very few months to go into the election, with a ruling party as our main opponent.

“Any hardliner stance at this crucial stance can only lead to a constitutional crisis and unnecessary litigation. These are avoidable distractions that must not be encouraged. We are aware that the next party official that has the constitutional right to succeed Ayu will also come from the Northern section of the country,while major positions will have to be swapped between the Northern and Southern zones of the country.”

The PDP spokesperson explained that major changes can not be affected within the party structure without another national convention that will involve a lot of planning and money.

He said, “Do we have the time and the resources to go into another National Convention now? How many party members currently holding executive positions will be ready to sacrifice their positions at this crucial period? Can you trust party members not to go into litigation over issues like these? That is why we wish to appeal to all stakeholders to suspend all agitations till after the election.

“We are ready to kickstart Atiku’s campaign in Ekiti as soon as possible and we enjoin all our leaders to participate actively as it is obvious that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is the only candidate that unites our nation at this critical moment.”