PDP Crisis: Atiku’s Camp Digs Deep, Says No to Ayu’s Removal
PDP Crisis: Atiku’s Camp Digs Deep, Says No to Ayu’s Removal
Despite the resignation of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Walid Jibrin and his replacement with a former President of the Senate, Senator Adolphus Wabara, the crisis in the party has persisted with the camp of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar disclosing that sacking the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu would plunge the party into more constitutional crises.
The camp of the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike has also refused to be pacified by Jibrin’s resignation and has consistently demanded that Ayu should relinquish his position to a southerner to ensure a balance of power between the North and the South.
Wike on Saturday also insisted that the members of his camp were not discouraged by the confidence vote passed on Ayu by the party’s National Executive Council (NEC), insisting that the right thing must be done.
A member of the Rivers governor’s camp and Governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde also at the weekend argued that the main opposition party cannot be able to restructure Nigeria if it cannot restructure itself.
But speaking Saturday on ARISE News, a spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, stated that sacking Ayu would cause more crises in the party.
This is coming as the NEC has directed the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to unite all the governors elected on the platform of the party.
According to Aniagwu, the PDP, as a listening party, would take a second look at the issues based on what was permissible by the law of the party.
He argued that removing Ayu would create a constitutional crisis for the party, which would snowball into greater problems than what the party was faced with.
According to him, the main issue being canvassed by the stakeholders is the stepping down of the national chairman, which has now been overtaken by events following the vote of confidence by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
“People may misinterpret it to mean calling the bluff of certain stakeholders but that is far from it because the party leadership examined the issues vis-a-vis the provisions of the party’s constitution as amended in 2017.
“When you look at that constitution, there are principal officers called the National Working Committee of the party led by the National Chairman and in the order of hierarchy, the Deputy National Chairman who must also come from the same zone with the National Chairman is next in line.
“The third in line is the National Secretary and when you look at these positions, the National Chairman is from the North, the second in command is also from the North by the provision of the party’s constitution.
“In Section 45 of the party’s constitution, in the event of removal or resignation of the national chairman, the National Deputy Chairman takes over and acts in the position of that national chairman pending when the party can organise another election or do a NEC meeting to be able to decide as to how to rearrange the hierarchy of the party,” he explained.
He said because the positions were elective, even if Ayu were to step down for power to come to the South, the provisions of the constitution of the party would also be breached.
“That can only happen if you can also decide to remove the Deputy National Chairman of the party who the lot immediately falls on by the provisions of the law.