{"id":13137,"date":"2023-03-27T09:10:55","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T09:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/?p=13137"},"modified":"2023-03-27T09:10:55","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T09:10:55","slug":"pdp-crisis-call-for-ayus-resignation-intensified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/pdp-crisis-call-for-ayus-resignation-intensified\/","title":{"rendered":"PDP Crisis: Call for Ayu\u2019s resignation intensified"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_13137\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"13137\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 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-94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Dr. Iyorchia Ayu is under pressure to quit, following the protracted crisis that has hit the platform.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yesterday, he was suspended by the executive committee of his native Igyorov Ward in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State after a vote of no confidence was passed in him.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also, the PDP Deputy National Chairman, Ambassador Taofik Arapaja, said Ayu should resign to pave the way for the rebuilding of the party ahead of the 2027 elections.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike spoke in a smiliar vein like that of the deputy national chairman.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A resolution passed at the end of the Igyorov Ward meeting and read by its Secretary, Mr. Banger Dooyum, accused Ayu of causing PDP to lose the recent general election at the state, local government and ward levels in Benue State.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The resolution reads in part: \u201cHe (Ayu) was involved in anti-party activities, making the PDP lose at his ward and local government along with his allies who also didn\u2019t vote at the governorship election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Ward exco also accused him of failing to pay his annual dues as demanded by the PDP constitution.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ayu\u2019s suspension is coming barely 72 hours after the PDP national leadership announced the suspension of two of its ex-governors \u2014Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) and Ibrahim Shema (Katsina)\u2014 for alleged anti-party activities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also suspended was a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Pius Anyim.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><iframe width=\"1\" height=\"1\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-id=\"thenationonlineng.net_1000x100_anchorad_responsive_DFP\" data-rendered=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe> Prof. Dennis Ityavyar from Benue State and Dr. Aslam Aliyu from Zamfara State were similarly suspended by the Ayu-led National Working Committee (NWC).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arapaja, in an interview with\u00a0<em>The Nation<\/em>, said the embattled National Chairman should quit because he has not only failed to lead the party to victory in the presidential election, he also lost his polling unit, ward, local government and state to another party.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PDP chieftain said party politics and management are not an academic exercise in which academics are regarded as experts. He explained that under Dr Ayu\u2019s leadership, governors who have a large following and great influence left the party without Ayu showing any concern.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arapaja insisted that Ayu should honourably tender his resignation to pave the way for the rebuilding of the party.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said: \u201cBefore the election, we told them that there must be justice and equity.\u00a0 \u201cWe said the national chairman should be a Southerner for the purpose of inclusiveness, having produced a presidential candidate of Northern origin. But they refused.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWhen it was time to choose the vice-presidential candidate, I was a member of the committee. We all agreed on Nyesom Wike.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cBut they moved on without Wike and the entire G-5 governors. We had nothing to campaign within the South.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cAnother party zoned its presidency to the South. You can see the result now. \u201cIt is time for us to go back to the drawing board and build a party in which there is justice and equity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arapaja added: \u201cAny political party must be able to deliver. If you are a leader and are unable to deliver, you need to step down.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cAyu could not deliver his polling unit, his ward, local government and state, let alone the presidency.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cHe is not a politician, and cannot continue to serve as the national chairman of our party. He should step down. PDP is not a university; it is a political party.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cIf he is a man of integrity, he does not need to be told to throw in the towel. The party needs to be completely rebuilt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The governors, who came together under the umbrella of Integrity Group \u2013 Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ifeanyi Ugwuayi (Enugu), Ikpeazu Okezie (Abia) and Samuel Ortom (Benue) have distanced themselves from the activities of the Ayu-led NWC.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Efforts by our correspondence to get reaction from the PDP chair were not successful.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ayu\u2019s immediate predecessor, Prince Uche Secondus, was in 2021 removed in similar circumstances.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The allegation against Secondus by his Ward Exco in Rivers State was that he failed to pay his annual membership dues for an accumulated period of 10 years.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Secondus, who was suspended a few weeks to the end of his tenure, did not regain his seat until his tenure expired.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ayu was eventually elected chairman following which he resumed duties on December 9, 2021.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Dr. Iyorchia Ayu is under pressure to quit, following the protracted crisis that has&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[178,174,170,171,179],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13137"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13137"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13138,"href":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13137\/revisions\/13138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.1001newsng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}