Ayu dares Wike, vows not to resign as PDP chair

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Iyorchia Ayu, has said he would not resign his position amidst the crisis rocking the party ahead of the 2023 general election.

The Star had reported that the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his supporters demanded the immediate resignation of Ayu as a condition for them to campaign for the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the next year’s polls.

Governor Wike’s loyalists insisted that Ayu must resign his position, adding that they should be allowed to choose his successor.

They said all top positions in the PDP are being occupied by northerners, noting that Ayu, who is from the North-Central must resign as a concession to the South.

The supporters of the governor stressed that Atiku must honour his promise that once the party’s presidential standard-bearer emerges from the North, a southerner would be the national chairman.

Wike’s supporters further alleged that a former Senate President, David Mark, was with Ayu’s resignation letter.

However, the PDP chairman, in a statement issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Simon Imobo-Tswam, said he has no plan to resign his position.

Ayu stressed that he was elected for a tenure of four years, saying: “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.”

Imobo-Tswam further debunked the reports that Ayu had resigned and that his resignation letter is with Mark.

“If there is such a resignation, it exists only in the imagination of those who have made themselves available for hatchet jobs,” he added.

Imobo-Tswam said if Ayu had resigned, he would give his resignation letter to the Deputy Chairman (North) and not Mark, adding that Section 45 (I and ii) of the party’s Constitution was clear on that.

“So, where does Mark comes in here, being that he is not even a member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC)

“It appears that those who have been procured to blackmail the national chairman out of office are not even aware of what the party’s Constitution says about the matter.

“We are shocked that such reckless, vicious, mischievous and fabricated falsehood can find prime space in the mainstream media.

“But, even more shocking is the fact that otherwise respected media houses have made themselves easy platforms for unscrupulous people to peddle falsehood and run smear campaigns,” he stated.

Imobo-Tswam stressed that the PDP chairman “is on a crucial assignment to lead the PDP on a historic rescue mission comes February 2023.”