PDP Crisis: Atiku gives condition for Ayu’s resignation

Atiku Abukakar, presidential flagbearer of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has outlined the conditions under which the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu can resign his position.

The former vice president on Wednesday said Ayu’s resignation must be done in accordance with the party’s constitution, rules, regulations and practice.

Atiku made this known at the PDP Southwest stakeholders meeting held at the popular Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, University Teaching Hospital, UCH, Ibadan.

Atiku said: “We cannot do anything outside our constitution except if it is amended. We cannot do anything unless the laws are amended.

“Ayu must go through our constitution, rules, regulations, and our practice, otherwise we cannot give the kind of leadership Nigerians want.

“It is possible, it is achievable, we have done it before and we have started doing it again.”

Atiku who was reacting to the decision of the Southwest region, which called for the resignation of Ayu at the meeting, urged urged PDP members not to allow the issue to derail them from working hard to win the next general elections.

Earlier, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state had conveyed the message of the region to the party presidential candidate; that Ayu must resign to give room for fairness and equity.

He said there were issues on the structural deficiency in the party to be addressed before the 2023 election.

“If we want to unify Nigeria, we must unify PDP first. If we want government of national unity, it must reflect in PDP. If we want to restructure in Nigeria, we must restructure PDP first.

“Our Presidential candidate is from Northeast, our National Chairman is from North Central, the Director General of Atiku campaign, Aminu Tambuwa is from the Northwest, so the PDP National Chairman should step down now for peace to reign.” He insisted.

Speaking on behalf of the National Chairman, the PDP Deputy National Chairman, North, Umar Damagum, urged members to commit themselves and work assiduously for the victory of the party in the coming elections.

He noted that the choice of the venue for the meeting was deliberate because Ibadan was the capital of politics in Southwest and Nigeria at large.

In his remarks, the Chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum, Aminu Tambuwa said the meeting was a sign of good things to come, and Southwest would come back to PDP in 2023.