By Olusegun Olanrewaju and Ben Ogbemudia
There is an uneasy calm in the camp of the leading opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The latest round of war is an offshoot of the inauguration of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council last Thursday.
On Thursday, the campaign council was announced with fanfare in Abuja. Party bigwigs have since turned into political gladiators once again over the composition of the council.
Even though party stakeholders feel there should be a semblance of peace with the accommodation of some supporters of raging Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, in the campaign council, fresh trouble is rearing its ugly head once again in the camp of the political party.
Some party leaders, meanwhile, have been running helter-skelter to stave off further warfare, particularly in the ranks of the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, and his Enugu State counterpart, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde had Wednesday reiterated his position that the National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu must go, and by Thursday the party released the list of the presidential campaign council. The move is seen by some party members as direct affront on those calling for Ayu’s ouster.
•The campaign council
The list of members on the much-anticipated campaign council include that of Governor Nyesom Wike, who has been at the centre of the controversy. He was reduced to a floor member in the list.
According to the list announced by PDP National Organising Secretary, Bature Umar, the names of A-list members of the party across the six geo-political zones of the country.
The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, is the council’s chairman, while he will be deputised by Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed (North) and his Oyo State counterpart, Governor Seyi Makinde (South). Sokoto State Aminu Tambuwal was named Director-General
Members of the council apart from Udom and Bala Mohammed include Governor Seyi Makinde (Oyo State), who is to take charge as the Vice Chairman; as well as Governors Wike (Rivers), Samuel Ortom (members), and Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Director-General of the presidential campaign, while former governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke, was made Deputy Director-General, Operations. Among many others on the 326-member list.
•Udom, Wabara move to douse fire, lobby Ikpeazu, Ugwuanyi
Since the announcement, party leaders have been making frantic efforts to ensure peace and true reconciliation, as a prelude to boost victory chances in the forthcoming general election, including efforts by new acting Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman, Adolphus Wabara.
Recently, Ikpeazu made a call admonishing party members to ensure that internal crisis is averted in the ranks. He also pledged his absolute support to Wabara.
On his part, Wabara has assured of resolving the internal crisis in the party. He stated this when he led some members of the board on a visit to Ikpeazu at his country home in Umuobiakwa.
ThisNigeria learnt that Udom’s team is also making a frantic move to bring Ugwuanyi into their fold, but the process of reconciliation is not clear yet.
The PDP has been in crisis since after its presidential primary election in Abuja where a former Vice-President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, emerged as the presidential flag bearer of the party in the 2023 election.
•Bode George gives Ayu end of September to quit
As the confidence-building measures are on fresh trouble is roaring in the south-western flank of the party where a former party deputy national chair and BoT member, Chief Bode George, is up in arms with PDP national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.
George, who has been leading a national campaign that Ayu should resign his job over lop-sidedness in national composition that gives undue advantage to the North, upped his demand, giving the embattled Ayu up to the end of September, to quite, even as the party walks on tighter ropes.
The BoT chieftain warned that the party faces the consequences of losing the presidential election in the South-West if the chairman is not removed.
•They’re working successfully for defeat, says anti-Ayu forces
Meanwhile, speaking in the wake of the presidential campaign council, the southern caucus of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) is maintaining that Ayu, as a party chair, cannot be the face of the PDP campaign.
And despite the inclusion of some of Wike’s loyalists into the campaign council, some southern NWC members yesterday still maintained their stand that Ayu must resign.
Two of the key leaders from the southern national working committee who preferred to remain anonymous said Ayu as national chairman of the PDP cannot lead the presidential campaign.
They also expressed worry over the way and manner the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is going about the whole issue they feel could surely spell doom for him come 2023.
“My dear brother, if a man who claimed to be honest and a gentleman said he cannot respect a simple agreement he reached with the leaders of the party, then Nigerians should not take the party seriously.
“If Iyorchia Ayu cannot respect his words before Atiku Abubakar and the same Atiku Abubakar is saying Bla-Bla-Bla, then Nigerians shouldn’t trust them, and APC should be allowed to continue because they will be the worst when the power eventually get to them,” he said.
It would be recalled that Bode George had recently walked out at the last BoT meeting held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja over the call on Ayu to quit office.
At the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party, loyalists of Governor Wike also boycotted the meeting in protest in demanding Ayu’s resignation.
When ThisNigeria contacted the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, he pleaded to be excused on the matter.
With a few days to the commencement of the campaign for the 2023 general elections, there also seems to be no end in sight to the crisis rocking the PDP.
Trouble started for the main opposition party after its primary election when the national chairman, Ayu, alongside the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, visited Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State.
CJN Confirmation: Lawan bows to pressure, says Senate will screen Ariwoola this week
During that visit, Ayu had hailed Tambuwal, describing him as “a hero of democracy.” Whatever he meant by that, the statement was the off-shoot of the major crisis in the party today.
Governor Wike, who came second in that primary election, and all those in his camp, saw that remark from the party’s national chairman as “disappointing and from a biased point of view.”
As if that was not enough, Atiku went ahead to pick Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate, despite the decision of a committee for that purpose, which earlier settled for Wike, according to Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom.
Now, to assuage his feelings and that of his followers, Wike had demanded Ayu’s resignation, stating that both Atiku and Ayu had earlier made such a commitment.
To drum home that point, Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde recently told Atiku that Ayu must resign for peace to reign in the party.
Makinde spoke when Atiku visited the state, alongside other chieftains of the party.
Responding, Atiku categorically told his audience that Ayu’s resignation is a tall dream.
Although he did not rule it out, he said it would only be possible should the constitution be amended, which development analysts say was a near impossibility before the 2023 presidential election.
It is, however, reported that instead of Ayu resigning, some Nigerians passed a vote of confidence in him. It was rather the BoT Chairman, Walid Jibrin, that was allegedly coerced to resign, a development that has not gone down well with the members of the party from the southern part of the country.
To drum home that point, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde recently told Atiku that Ayu must resign for peace to reign in the party.
Makinde spoke when Atiku visited the state, alongside other chieftains of the party.
Some of those present included Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, Senator Ademola Adeleke, Soji Adagunodo and Raymond Dokpesi, former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu and his counterparts from Ondo, Olusegun Mimiko and Osun, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Eyitayo Jegede, Dino Melaye and Ladi Adebutu.
Makinde insisted that one of the conditions to restructure the party was for Ayu to resign, explaining that the presidential candidate, Atiku is from the north while Ayu is also from the north.
“We must speak the truth. The truth is that we don’t have any issue either with the party or the candidate.
“We don’t have any issue with the PDP. This is not about an individual. Those are the issues that are behind us, it has happened, it has happened.
“The issue is that we must restructure Nigeria if we want unity in Nigeria. But, we must restructure PDP itself before we restructure Nigeria. If we want to restructure Nigeria, do we have the capacity, the answer is yes. But, the South West PDP is asking the PDP chairman to resign. The Southwest PDP is telling the Chairman to step down,” he said.
Responding, Atiku categorically told his audience that Ayu’s resignation is a tall dream.
Although he did not rule it out, he said it would only be possible should the constitution be amended, which development analysts say was a near impossibility before the 2023 presidential election.
Atiku said, “Only if the PDP constitution is amended. The calls for the resignation of the national chairman or any national officer can only be achieved through the party’s constitution.
“The party’s constitution can only be amended. It is possible. When I was the Vice President, we took over South West except for Lagos state. I don’t want us to lose focus, the focus is on how to win the 2023 elections. I know that we are capable, we can do that”.
7m Nigerians sue INEC over failure to allow them complete voter registration
With this, he appears to have foreclosed the possibility of Ayu’s resignation in line with Wike’s camp’s demand.
Also, Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro said Atiku’s stand was disappointing.
The Ohanaeze scribe noted that “we cannot fathom why it is so difficult for the PDP presidential candidate and the national chairman to respect a simple agreement at this early stage. Governor Wike has said several times that they committed to the fact that Ayu will resign, so our question is why are they reneging on that promise? It is not a good omen at all.
“Even if they did not pledge, how on earth can both of them come from the North? Does it mean the South is not relevant to the PDP? What of the South-East that has remained the most loyal region to the PDP? What have they benefited from?
“We heard what Atiku said in Oyo clearly; we are not kids, the message is clear enough. What he has just told the South is that Ayu is not resigning and that they can do without us. We shall go into our room and make our own decision.”
Meanwhile, Wike is yet to react to Atiku’s latest stand.
