Fmr Senate President, Iyorchia Ayu, Is PDP Consensus Chairmanship Candidate

By Akinwale Kasali and Ayodele Oni

After a marathon meeting of the Northern Caucus of opposition Party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the Bauchi State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, it settled for former Senate President, Iyorchia Ayu, as its consensus Chairmanship candidate.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP had zoned the position of National Chairman to the North apart from endorsing the decision of Zoning Committee which said the current National Working Committee (NWC) positions be swapped between the North and the South.

For months now, the PDP Chairman, Uche Secondus has been in the eye of the storm, with some Party stalwarts calling for his removal including some PDP Governors.

On two occasions he was able to pull through the storm, but it seems the dice is now cast for him to leave the exalted throne for another person to be in the saddle. He is currently on suspension from the office.

Ayu is a former Nigerian Senator who was elected President of the Senate during the Nigerian Third Republic (1992–1993).He later served in various Ministerial positions in the Cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007.

Ayu was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs in July 2003.

During a cabinet reshuffle in June 2005, Ayu was reassigned to become Minister of Environment.

After falling out with Obasanjo, Ayu left the PDP and joined the Action Congress (AC).

He was head of the campaign to elect former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as President on the AC platform in April 2007.

In February 2007, Ayu was arrested and later arraigned by a Federal court on charges of terrorism. He was later released on bail.

Ayu was born in Gboko in Benue State. He taught sociology in the University of Jos, including courses on the art and science of Marxism, and was the Chairman of the Jos University chapter of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

After entering politics, he was influential among the majority Tiv people in his home state of Benue.

He was elected Senator in the Third Republic on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and became Senate President.

In November 1993, the Senate impeached Ayu, who was a strong opponent of the Interim National Government established after the elected presumed elected President, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola had been prevented from taking office.

However, he later became the Minister for Education in General Sani Abacha’s Military Government.

If everything works out as planned, he would succeed Secondus in office as the National Chairman of the PDP.