On Thursday, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, the national chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, received approval from the party’s National Executive Committee to remain in that position.
The 97th NEC meeting of the party approved a vote of confidence in Ayu.
This is in spite of Nyesom Wike, the governor of River State, and numerous other senior party members from the South calling for his resignation.
Adolphus Wabara, a former Senate President, took over as temporary chairman of the party’s board of trustees after Senator Walid Jibrin resigned from his position as chairman.
According to reports, Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential nominee, and former national chairs of the party Namadi Sambo are among the 397 members of the NEC accredited for the meeting.
At the meeting, every NEC participant voted in favor of keeping Ayu as the party’s chairman.
Following a motion to keep Ayu in her position being made by the House Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, the acting BoT chair, Wabara, put it to a voice vote.
Speaking at the NEC, Ayu refuted claims that the party was in crisis, characterizing the conflict as “a regular disagreement.”
He gave members assurances that the differences would be settled before to the 2023 election.
Ayu said, “This party is united despite the impression some people might want to create. Anybody here would see the enthusiasm and harmony in the party. It is normal to have disagreements.
“This party knows how to settle its rifts before the election. We need to focus on security, which, among others is Nigeria’s biggest worry. We will come out of this meeting stronger than we have ever been.”
Wabara added that the party might doze off before the 2023 elections given the meeting’s atmosphere and the internal crisis-resolution system.
He added, “Today is a great day for us and we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We have an in-built mechanism to solve feuds. When people expect us to implode, that is when we come out stronger.
“With this, I can boldly say we can go to sleep; we have won the 2023 election. We should always debrief ourselves in-house rather than play to the gallery. We should watch our utterances. It is only God that knows tomorrow.
“Once you voiced a word, it is always difficult to withdraw. My advice to us is to be mature enough to control ourselves. There is no problem in life that has no solution. The campaign starts, and everything has changed with the NWC. We should go home and ensure our votes count. We are in support of the national committee on this.”
Atiku promised the party’s leadership that all differences would be settled.
He said, “Family disagreements are normal but what I can assure you is that we are determined to resolve them internally. The PDP is the oldest party in Nigeria. We have rules, and regulations and I want to add, that no matter the level of disagreement, it must be resolved with the rules of the party. All our disagreements must be resolved internally.”
Aminu Tambuwal, the governor of Sokoto State and the head of the PDP Governors Forum, urged party members to look into internal methods and make sure that all disputes are settled within the organization.
He asked President Muhammadu Buhari, and the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that the elections in 2023 are free, fair, and credible, just like they were recently in Osun.
Along with Tambuwal, the governors of Bauchi, Taraba, and Bayelsa attended the meeting; Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor of Delta State, wrote a letter of apology.
The deputy governors of Adamawa and Benue were present at the NEC meeting as well.
Jibrin declares resignation
Jibrin stated the reason for his resignation during the BoT meeting, which came before the NEC meeting, saying it was to ensure the party’s presidential candidate won the 2023 elections.
He said, “I took this decision based on what I said in the past. I said that all we want to make sure of is that Atiku Abubakar becomes the president by all means, and that is why I sincerely decided to step down from the BoT. I discussed this with the candidate and he agreed with me. I am sure if the party wins, I will be given a bigger position.”
Jubril’s exceptional service to the party was appreciated by Ayu.
