There is a twist in the problem rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP after the party’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees Walid Jibrin criticized the party for allowing a situation where three key positions are held by Northerners.
Apart from him as the BOT chair, Atiku Abubakar and Iyorchia Ayu hold the position of PDP presidential candidate and National Chairman, respectively.
Jibril described the situation as unfair.
The BOT chairman spoke amidst pressure on Ayu to resign his position following the emergence of Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate in June.
Jibrin position, those watching the party said could be a new plot to force the National Chairman out of his position so that peace can return to the party, following the recent divisions occasioned by the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate, and his eventual selection of Governor Ifeanyin Okowa of Delta state as his running mate.
Since Atiku’s emergence as the flagbearer, the party has been polarized between supporters of Governor Nyesom Wike of River state, who came second during the shadow election, and supporters of the former vice president.
While the Wike group insists on the ouster of the National Chairman, the case is not the same with the Atiku’s group who has maintained that Ayu must remain in office for four years, according to the terms of his election.
Last week, the embattled chairman vowed not to step down from office until his term expired.
“We restate, therefore, that the PDP National Chairman has not resigned and has no plan of resigning. For clarity and emphasis, he was elected for a tenure of four years,” the statement reads.
“Sections 45 and 47 of the PDP Constitution are clear on the removal and/or resignation of the National Chairman. Those who don’t know this should get copies of the party’s Constitution for more information on the matter.
“PDP members and the general public are advised to ignore any story of such a phantom resignation,” Simon Imobo-Tswana, a media aide to Ayu said.
The party had also two weeks, ago postponed a meeting of its National Caucus and National Executive Committee, NEC following an alleged plot to force out the National Chairman from office.
Speaking Jubril said the north’s dominance of key positions is the root cause of the current problem rocking the opposition party.
Jibrin who spoke on the Channels Television Sunday Politics said the party will correct the lopsidedness as soon as possible.
According to him, “To tell the truth, it will not be fair for the president of Nigeria to be from the north, the chairman of the party from the north, and the BoT chairman from the north.
“By next week, we will get the report. And when we find out that somebody is wrong in what has happened we will come up openly to tell the party that it is wrong. Whatever we can do, we will do it in the interest of the party to make the party remain as PDP.”
Meanwhile, the magazine learnt that some chieftains of the party working for Atiku may yet try again to force the party to shift the NEC meeting so as to stop Ayu from being disgraced out of office. Sources in the party said the Atiku group would wait for the outcome of the ongoing reconciliation efforts with Governor Wike before it can agree on the ouster of the National chairman. Ayu’s removal is one of the demands of the Wike’s group.
