The South West wing of the PDP demand for resignation of party’s National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu has vindicated Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers, a party chieftain has said.
Chief Ogbonna Nwuke, a former member of the house of representatives ( Etche-Omuma Constituency, Rivers) made this remark in a statement on Thursday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the PDP was hit by crisis after Alhaji Atiku Abubakar emerged the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.
Some PDP governors and leaders had insisted that for fairness and balancing, the North should not hold both the party’s presidential ticket and chairmanship position.
Leading the struggle for Ayu’s resignation, who is from the North Central part of Nigeria was Wike and some other leaders from the southern Nigeria.
This position was again reiterated by the South West PDP leaders led by Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Wednesday, when Atiku met with leaders from the zone ahead of the commencement of 2023 general elections campaign on Sept. 28.
Nwuke said all along, some people had tried to divert attention from the real issues by claiming that Wike, for selfish reasons, was trying to destabilise the PDP since he did not win the primaries and could not become Atiku’s running mate.
He, however, said that the stance taken by Yoruba PDP leaders when Atiku visited them had shown that the struggle for the correction of imbalances in the party was not about Wike.
Nwuke said: “Wike is not the issue as some people will want us to believe. Wike has become the symbol of the struggle for the protection of the rights of the people of Southern Nigeria.
“For some reasons, persons close to the PDP flagbearer have tried to be clever by half. There is a limit to name calling.
“Despite attempts to confuse issues and hide the truth, the actual message is out. It is about the South and nothing else.
“We are gladdened by the fact that the South West has spoken clearly. Those who are claiming that Ayu’s removal will raise constitutional issues are deceiving themselves.
“Where was the PDP Constitution when some people decided to ignore the provisions of Article 7(3)(c) which dwells on the issue of power rotation? Was that in itself not a breach of the PDP Constitution?”
He also urged Abubakar and his handlers to `do what is right’, adding that `returning the chairmanship of the party to the South at this time is what is right’.
He said that leaders of the party must acknowledge that what happened in the build up to the special convention when some people chose to run against zoning was unconstitutional.
According to him, this is the right thing to do in the present circumstance.
“Finally, accepting that a balance of power on a North/South basis is what is right is the best thing to do as we go forward.
“Now that the South West has spoken, Abubakar will have to decide whether he wants to be a mere presidential candidate or if he wants to win an election. He will have to choose between Ayu and the South as we prepare for 2023.
“At this time, we are not begging them to do what is right, we are demanding that they do what is right in the interest of the PDP. Anything short of that will not work,” Nwuke added.
Abubakar on Wednesday, met with Makinde, a former governor of Ekiti – Ayodele Fayose, the Osun governor-elect, Sen. Ademola Adeleke, former Osun govermor -Mr Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and his Ondo State counterpart, Dr Olusegun Mimiko among other leaders of the party from the South-West.
Abubakar was in the company of his running mate and Delta Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa and other top hierarchy of the party.
The meeting was to discuss the future of the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.
