PDP: BoT Meets As Aspirants Demand Ayu’s Resignation

The Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP will meet later this week to determine the fate of Iyorcha Ayu as the National Chairman of the party.

The meeting is coming on the crest of a petition by some members of the party calling on Ayu and two other officials of the party to resign.

The embattled PDP chairman has been under serious pressure from a group in the party led by the Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, to vacate his position.

The irate group is made up also of Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ifeanyi Ugwuayi (Enugu), Samuel Ortom (Benue) states among others.

These governors have caused a panic in the party by staying away from the Presidential Campaign of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who again met with Governor Wike in Abuja to salvage the situation.

According to sources who attended the meeting Atiku had with Wike, the River’s governor insisted that he would not support Atiku until Ayu resigns from office.

Worried by the latest development, the party’s BoT under the leadership of Adolphus Wabara has fixed a meeting for this week to decide the fate of Ayu.

The decision is coming barely a month after on the National Executive Council, NEC of the party passed a vote of confidence on Ayu on September 7.

The details of the meeting has not been made public but the former BoT Chairman, Walid Jibrin told the Punch yesterday that the Board has to wade in on the crisis which has shown no sign of abating.

He said, “There is a (BoT) meeting this week but I don’t know the date yet. What we are interested in is that we must speak with one voice and stay with the party’s plans and objectives to enable us to win the elections in 2023.

“We must encourage our members to rally other Nigerians to come out and vote for Atiku Abubakar and Ifeanyi Okowa.”

“We must not allow division like we are now witnessing in the NWC. All other organs must understand that the party constitution is supreme.

“Once the NWC members accommodate loopholes in the administration of the party, the PDP is finished.”

Meanwhile, the crisis rocking the opposition party took a different dimension on Monday after a Forum of candidates and aspirants passed a vote of no confidence on Ayu.

The group led by Chris Ogbu in their petition to the party’s NEC said the three officials must resign withing 48 hours, saying the party cannot go into next year election as a divided house.