The call for the resignation of the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Iyorchia Ayu, has gained traction in the Southwest with Oyo State Gov. Seyi Makinde, lending his voice to the stepping down of Ayu.
Makinde said on Wednesday that the call became imperative for the South to feel a sense of belonging in the party.
The governor spoke at the Southwest PDP stakeholders meeting with the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar.
Persecondnews recalls that Makinde, had in August travelled to London with Rivers Gov. Nyesom Wike, Benue and Abia governors to meet with Atiku over the crisis in the party after its presidential primary election held in June.
Wike has been unyielding in his demand for Ayu to step down as chairman following the emergence of Atiku from the North, insisting that the National Chairman should come from South in accordance with the party’s constitution.
Makinde was also recently invited to Rivers State by Wike as his friend to inaugurate some projects.
PDP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) had last week passed a vote-of-confidence in Ayu, foreclosing his stepping down.
On the party’s presidential flagbearer, Makinde described Atiku as “the incoming President of Nigeria in 2023.”
However, Makinde’s allusion to Atiku as incoming President elicited a welcoming and loud ovation from the stakeholders at the meeting.
“The truth is that we do not have any issue either with our party or our candidate. If there are challenges they must be tabled. We are supposed to give hope to our people, we want them to listen to us.
“Our party wants to rescue Nigeria and our candidate is a unifier; he wants to restructure Nigeria
“Eight years of the All Progressives Congress have left us sharply divided. The issue is we must practice what we preach. If we want to unify Nigeria, we must unify the PDP first.
“If we want to restructure Nigeria, we must have the willingness to bring inclusivity to the PDP. Do we have the capacity? The answer is a resounding Yes,” Makinde, an engineer and the only PDP governor in Southwest, said.
He added: “The message from the South-West PDP is that the South-West is asking that the National Working Committee of the PDP should be restructured.
“We are asking the National Chairman to step down so that the South will be fully included. That is the message.”
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