Akani Alaka writes on the worsening crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2023 election over the continued stay of Iyorcha Ayu as the party’s national chairman.
All eyes will be on the national secretariat of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) later this week as members of the National Caucus and National Executive (NEC) of the party, barring a change of plans, are expected to converge on the building located in the busy Wuse Zone 5 area of Federal Capital Territory.
The agenda of the meetings, scheduled to hold between Wednesday and Thursday respectively, as was gathered over the weekend, will be to approve members into the council that will lead the campaign of the party for the 2023 elections. Such meetings should ordinarily have been characterised by cheers and banter by the party chieftains. But the meeting will be held against the increasing polarisation of PDP members over the continued stay of Ayu as the party’s national chairman.
For And Against Ayu
On one side of the divide is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who is the presidential candidate of his party and his allies in the various national organs as well as the PDP Governors’ Forum who want Ayu to stay in office, at least, till the end of the 2023 election.
Atiku and his allies alongside members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP had consistently argued that changing the chairman of the party a few months before the election may put the party in jeopardy.
On the other side are another group led by Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers who also has some governors and chieftains of the party in his camp. Wike and his loyalists are insisting that Ayu should vacate office in tune with the promise he made before his election at the party’s national convention in Abuja last October.
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Ayu, in the heat of the demand for zoning of the presidential ticket of the party to the southern part of the country, had promised to resign in the event of another northerner becoming PDP’s presidential candidate.
They also accused Ayu of rigging the PDP presidential primary against Wike and in favour of Atiku. Also, the group is angry that Atiku not only refused to pick Wike as his running mate but also disparaged him during a television interview.
However, despite the emergence of Atiku as the presidential candidate, Ayu had insisted on remaining in office. He has the backing of Atiku and his allies in the party.
On the other hand, the Wike group had listed the resignation of Ayu as a key reason for backing the 2023 presidential aspiration of Atiku.
The camp had at a meeting held three weeks ago in London listed Ayu’s vacation of office as key to joining the campaign for Atiku 2023 presidency.
Wike had also at the London meeting reportedly argued that with the head of crucial organs of PDP like the National Working Committee (NWC), the Board of Trustees (BoT), and the presidential candidate from the North, it will be difficult to sell Atiku to voters in the South ahead of the 2023 election.
Atiku’s Dilemma
Atiku had promised that he was going to get back to the group in two weeks. But it was learnt last week that Atiku is in a dilemma on how to meet the demands of Wike’s group without offending other members of the party.
While Atiku is in support of Ayu staying in office till the end of the elections, he also knows that the support of Wike and his allies in the South is crucial for him to get votes in the region, especially with the threat posed by the Labour Party candidate. “Don’t forget that the Rivers State governor has at least seven governors in his camp. They should not just be the foot soldiers, but financers of the PDP presidential campaign, but for the ongoing crisis within the party,” a source told this newspaper.
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Atiku, it was further learnt, was concerned that acceding to Wike’s demand would amount to throwing some of his allies in Rivers and other places who have suffered because they supported him under the bus.
I Will Not Resign
In any way, Ayu himself has also indicated that he is not ready to vacate office. Indeed, he had stirred the hornet’s nest when he said those calling for his removal were children when PDP was formed. He argued that the position of the presidential candidate of the party does not affect that of the national chairman.
He added that he intends to complete his four-year tenure despite the vociferous calls for his resignation. “We started PDP, these children were not around. They are children who do not know why we formed the party. We will not allow any individual to destabilise our party.”
You’re An Ingrate
Though he mentioned no name, the inference was clear and it was not a surprise that barely 24 hours later, Wike descended on the PDP national chairman. He accused Ayu of display of arrogance, insincerity, lack of integrity, and dishonesty, warning that his stance on issues could jeopardise the electoral fortunes of the party in the 2023 elections.
The Rivers governor spoke at the inauguration of Omerelu internal roads in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state performed by Chief Olabode George, former South-west deputy national chairman of PDP. He said he had expected that Ayu, as chairman of the party would unite all aggrieved members and galvanise them for the 2023 elections.
But instead of doing that, Wike said Ayu had shown ingratitude by describing elected governors of states, who supported his quest as party chairman as children. He also noted that Ayu had abandoned the PDP at one time, moved to another party, and, therefore, could not have equal stakes with those who had stayed back to rebuild the party.
He recalled that Ayu had promised to relinquish the chairmanship of PDP as a northerner if an aspirant from the North eventually emerged as the presidential candidate of the party. He, therefore, asked the PDP chairman to be a man of honour and keep his promise.
Why Ayu Must Go
Wike has the support of George who added that it was against the culture of PDP for the presidential candidate, national chairman and the chairman of the Board of Trustees to be occupied by persons from a section of the country.
He reiterated the demands of the Wike group that the position of national chairman of PDP must go to the South. “Statutorily, it is the national chairman who hands over the party’s flag to our presidential candidate. How will party members from the South feel when they see that at all political rallies southerners have no public political representation?”
He also declared his support for the position taken by the Rivers State governor. “Governor Wike is only fighting for justice, for equity, for fairness in our party. He is not only a strong pillar in this party but a mobiliser, a financier, and an actualiser. Since he joined the PDP, he has not left this party,” said George.
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Also supporting the Rivers governor’s position, former minister of justice and attorney general of the federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke accused said Ayu has not shown that he is interested in the party’s victory in next year’s elections.
“Atiku should smell the coffee and take charge so this agent of destruction would not lead him and the party to doom. Wike is not the problem of the party. People should stand up and speak the truth rather than engage in doublespeak and name-calling,” Adoke, an ally of the Rivers State governor said.
Wike and his loyalists were reported to have left for London again last weekend. It was not clear if they will attend the NEC meeting or even the PDP Governors’ meeting said to be convened to tackle the Ayu conundrum. But sources say the composition of the presidential campaign council will also give the direction of where the party is headed while, for now, Ayu is living on a knife-edge. No doubt, Wike and his allies are tightening the noose on his neck even as they put pressure on Atiku and other PDP members to support their plot. Can he survive the blitzkrieg of Wike and his group in the coming days?