Some leaders of the Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP) are making moves to thwart plans by some aggrieved members of the party to remove the party’s national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, from office ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Daily Independent gathered from credible sources in the party that the plot to remove Ayu is being spear­headed by the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.

There has been a sharp division among the governors following the rejection of Wike as running mate to the party’s presidential candi­date, Atiku Abubakar, who set­tled for Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa despite Wike’s emergence as the candidate of a 17-member advisory com­mittee set up by the party to search for a vice presidential candidate.

Despite denial by the party leadership that all is well with­in its fold, the crisis became manifest last week when only two out of the 13 governors of the party were present at the inauguration of the party’s campaign council for Osun State governorship election.

Also, last week the party’s leadership issued a statement where it dismissed the pur­ported suspension of Senator Ayu as its national chairman over allegations of financial misappropriation.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in a statement, said reports that Ayu had been suspended as national chairman was the handiwork of mischievous persons out to destabilise the party.

“Such report is completely false and a product of the imag­ination of mischief-makers with the intent to destabilise our party, create an impres­sion of crisis within our ranks, and mislead the unsuspecting members of the public,” the statement read in part.

“It is clear that the false report is the handiwork of vi­cious anti-people forces who are agitated by the stability, unity, and soaring popularity of our party under the cohe­sive Sen. Dr. Ayu-led National Working Committee as well as the intimidating statures of our presidential and vice presidential candidates, His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, and His Excellency, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa respectively.”

However, speaking with Daily Independent, a chieftain of the party said that the threat to kick out Ayu from office is real as some aggrieved party members are asking him to vacate office since the nation­al chairman and the party’s presidential candidate cannot come from the same region.

He said others are also ac­cusing Ayu of financial misap­propriation and they claimed to have evidence to back up their claim.

Speaking further, he said the same pattern adopted by some party members led by Wike in removing the former national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, is being ad­opted again.

When asked what Ayu’s crime was, he said as a long standing associate of Atiku, Wike and his loyalists believe that he has a hand in the emergence of Okowa as the running mate.

Speaking further, he said Wike’s loyalists believe that Ayu had demonstrated parti­sanship during a visit to Gov­ernor Tambuwal in Sokoto, he (Ayu) described him as the hero of the PDP convention for stepping down for Atiku.

He, however, said some leaders of the party led by Tambuwal are backing Ayu and have insisted that he will only vacate office if Atiku wins the presidential election.

The plot to remove the national chairman is real. He has been secretly meeting with some prominent person­alities to avert it. Also, just like the governors are divided, the National Working Committee of the party are also divided as those sympathetic to Wike are unhappy with Ayu and they want him out.

“The same pattern they used in removing Secondus from office is also being ad­opted. Having realised that he has refused to resign after Atiku emerged, they will ac­cuse him of misappropria­tion while those against him in the NWC will pass a vote of no confidence in him. If they are in the majority and they get the support of most of the governors, I don’t see how he will survive it.

“However, those plotting his removal will have a hard time because unlike in Sec­ondus case when the gover­nors were on the same page, they are not united this time around as some of the gover­nors and party leaders have insisted that Ayu will lead the party to the 2023 general elec­tions”.

TinubuAdvocate1:
PDP is a very untruthful party.
Just like APC tho, which is why I’ve withdrawn my support for Bola Tinubu.
I’m now OBIdient.

PO23

TinubuAdvocate1:
PDP is a very untruthful party.
Just like APC tho, which is why I’ve withdrawn my support for Bola Tinubu.
I’m now OBIdient.

PO23

sunsplash99:

You shall eat the fruits of thy labour

Hotfreezer:


You had to abandon your previous moniker out of shame. You served PDP for donkey years and nothing to show. See how the entire PDP is running around begging Wike.
You SE cowards are changing monikers and changing parties.