Recall that the Governor Nyesom Wike’s camp to had withdrawn from the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council.
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu has said he's not stepping down from his position.
He said this following repeated calls for his resignation.
This comes after Governor Nyesom Wike’s camp withdrew from the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council.
The Wike camp also vowed not to partake in Atiku’s campaign activities pending the resignation of the party’s National Chairman.
Wike camp made the decisions at a strategic meeting held in Port Harcourt in the early hours of Wednesday.
It was gathered that the Wike Camp decided to hold the meeting following the vote of confidence passed on Ayu as the party’s national chairman by the National Executive Committee (NEC) despite their demand for his resignation.
In a resolution read by a former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Bode George, the Wike camp insisted that its members will not work with Atiku until Ayu resigns and allow an acting Chairman from the South to lead the party.
George stated that the Wike camp stated that their position was not negotiable as the continued stay of Ayu as the part chairman undermines the unity and constitution of the party.
He said: “Senator Iyorchia Ayu must resign as the National Chairman of the party for an acting Chairman of the Southern Nigerian extraction to emerge and lead the party on the national campaign.
“Consequently, we resolve not to participate in the campaign council in whatever capacity until the resignation of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu”.
But reacting to the development in the party, Ayu, who spoke through his Special Assistant (Media), Simon Imobo-Tswam, urged Wike and his allies to return to the campaign council in the interest of peace.
He said, “How can Iyorchia Ayu step down? The PDP is governed by rules, laws, regulations and conventions. He came through the process of the law and he will leave through the process of the law.
‘’Ayu spoke when he campaigned for this office. He said if a candidate emerges from the North, and the party says he should resign, he will resign. Right now, has the party spoken? Yes. What did the party say? The party gave him a resounding vote of confidence.
“Our appeal is that the party has spoken and it was a vote for unity, a vote for togetherness and purpose. Let us give peace a chance so that we can fight the battle in front of us to displace APC from office.
“As the chairman has said, the confidence vote was not a personal victory. It was a victory of all. It is a win-win for the party. He has appealed that let party faithful focus on the big picture of 2023. It is an appeal that we come back on one page. If we lose this election, Nigerians will not be happy with PDP. Since the PDP left office, the country has been going downhill.’’
Imobo-Tswam added, “We are still appealing. There is a phrase that says ‘What God cannot do, does not exist’ and we are saying ‘what diplomacy cannot achieve does not exist.’ That is what we are saying. Let them come back, so that we can win the election. In an election year, you need everybody. That is our message.”