Atiku, Wike and Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde is embroiled in a tussle over the Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyiocha Ayu. Makinde and Wike are insisting that the party chairman steps down.
Akani Alaka writes on the changing dynamics of the 2023 politics in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as related to demands for the sack of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu
Speaking during a television interview last week, Bode George, a former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asserted that if his party had kept faith with its zoning arrangement, the former vice president would not have emerged as its presidential candidate for the 2023 election.
The 78-year-old George who claimed to be among the founders of the PDP was making a case to justify the insistence by some members of the party that with the emergence of Atiku from Adamawa in North-east Nigeria as the presidential candidate, the position of the national chairman of PDP, now occupied by Iyorchia Ayu from Benue State in North-central Nigeria should be ceded to the South. The Lagos PDP chieftain’s claim on rotation, especially as related specifically to the presidential ticket of his party may be contentious.
After all, some members of the party had argued that rotation or zoning should not apply to the party since no president has been elected on its platform since 2015. Nevertheless, the retired officer of the Nigerian Navy and former governor of the old Ondo State tugged at the issue that has been at the fulcrum of the crisis that he, as well as other commentators, said was capable of derailing Atiku’s dream of being the next occupant of Aso Rock.
On the same page with George on the need to replace Ayu with a southerner are the Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, former Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, Taofeek Arapaja, and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike who is the arrowhead of the Ayu-Must-Go campaign.
Aside from the need to bring a southerner to the top echelon of the party, Wike and his group had also said Ayu himself had agreed before he was elected the party’s chairman that he would vacate office if a northerner emerged as the candidate of the party. Wike, also recently said that Atiku had told him in a meeting a day after the presidential primary that with his emergence as the flag bearer of the party, Ayu would vacate office.
Against such demands, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of PDP had about two weeks ago passed a vote of confidence on Ayu.
Also, Senator Walid Jibrin from the North had resigned as chairman PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) and he was succeeded by Senator Adolphus Wabara from the South in a move to pacify the Ayu-Must-Go agitators.
On Ayu Must Go We Stand
But the Wike camp had insisted that the position of the BoT chairman was inconsequential while insisting on their demand for change in the national chairmanship position.
Makinde reiterated the demand at a meeting between members of PDP in the South-west with Atiku in Ibadan Oyo State last week. The governor had said Atiku’s promise of restructuring Nigeria should begin by his supporting balancing and fairness in PDP.
“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 (PDP) 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. 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.”
PDP Constitution Must Be Followed
But Atiku has replied that while he is not opposed to the call for Ayu’s resignation, the constitution of the party must be followed: “Only if the PDP constitution is amended; the calls for the resignation of the national chairman or any national officer can only be achieved through the party’s constitution.
“The party’s constitution can only be amended. It is possible. When I was the vice president, we took over the South-west except for Lagos State. I don’t want us to lose focus. The focus is on how to win the 2023 elections. I know that we are capable, we can do that”.
The Atiku camp had argued before that Ayu’s resignation would not solve the problem of zoning as the national chairman would be succeeded by the deputy national chairman of the party from the same zone if he decided to throw in the towel as demanded.
Thus, if Ayu is relieved of his job, it is the deputy national chairman from the North-east like Atiku, Damagum, who will succeed him.
Atiku Moves On
After announcing the members of his presidential campaign council late last week, Atiku jetted out to Europe in what his media aides described as a business trip. Ayu had also earlier left Nigeria for an undisclosed destination in Europe.
There were speculations that both men might meet in Europe, ahead of the commencement of the campaign for the 2023 general election in a few weeks.
But it is doubtful if the talks between both men will feature the call for the resignation of the former senate president.
Analysts said the composition of the Presidential Campaign Council was itself a confirmation that Atiku may have decided to stick with Ayu while consigning the demands of Wike and his group aside in his battle for the presidency.
Makinde was named as vice chairman, South of the council. But Wike and most of his other associates were named as members of the council.
However, Governor Udom Emmanuel, who was neither in the camp of Wike nor supported the strident call for the sack of Ayu was named the DG of the Campaign Council. The Management Committee of the Council was also headed by Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwual whose support for Atiku during the presidential primary was one of the underlying reasons for insistence on the sack of Ayu by Wike.
Makinde On His Own
It was learnt that Atiku may have been further encouraged by the fact that the call for the sack of Ayu, contrary to claims of Makinde and Wike, is not enjoying the backing of most PDP members in the South-west.
For one, the Ogun, Osun, and Ondo chapters of the party have disassociated themselves from the call for the resignation of Ayu. While the Ondo chapter of the party passed a vote of confidence on Ayu last Friday, the Osun chapter of the party also has disassociated itself from Makinde’s call for the sack of the PDP chairman.
“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ondo State Chapter is committed to victory at the general elections in 2023. “Against this background, Ondo State PDP aligns itself completely with the 97th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting Resolutions which passed a vote of confidence on Senator Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman and the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party,” the Ondo chapter of PDP said in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Ikantu Peretei.
On its part, the Osun State chapter of PDP said, “Dr. Ayu, who was duly elected at a properly constituted National Convention with a four-year mandate, also has the vote of confidence of the party’s National Executive Committee, the party’s highest decision-making organ. Our party Chairman is a principled leader whose integrity is second to none. We consequently disagree with any move to undermine the office of the National Chairman.”
It added that: “We remain guided and loyal to the PDP Constitution which stipulates processes for leadership election and removal. As a party with a democratic tradition, we see no justification for any anti-democratic agitation to torpedo the ship of the party at this very critical stage of national campaigns and pre-election preparation.”
Also, the Ogun State chapter of the party through its Publicity Secretary, Akinloye Bankole said Makinde did not have the backing of its members in his demand for the replacement of Ayu. “Ogun PDP strongly insists that the sanctity of the party constitution cannot be slaughtered on the altar of narrow individuals’ whims and caprices,” Bankole said in an interview.
The Politics Favours Atiku
However, it is believed that the politics of control of South-west chapters of PDP influenced the decisions. Executives of the party in the three states are populated by people believed to be loyalists of Atiku after efforts by Makinde and his associates to install their preferred candidates failed.
There is also the fear that if the move to sack Ayu succeeds, Arapaja, who is now the Deputy National Chairman of PDP installed by Makinde will take over to their detriment.
Such sentiment is expressed in a statement by a group that described itself as Ekiti/Ondo Atiku Movement last Saturday.
“South-west is interested in the chairmanship of the party, but not through backstabbing or dagger drawn or back door as being championed by Governor Makinde and his co-travellers, who are obviously mainly outside the South-west Zone.
“When the position of chairman was zoned to the South-west, those masquerading as the defenders of the region now, for selfish reasons collaborated and colluded with a South-south governor to hijack the position to Rivers State,” the group stated in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Ade Ajepe.
“We say no to Gov. Makinde’s calls for removal of PDP national chairman,” the group added.
Wike, Associates Marooned
Outside of the South-west, Edo State Governor who has been at loggerheads with Wike over the control of his state chapter of the party had reportedly said he would leave the PDP if Ayu was forced out of office.
Governor Samuel Ortom who was one of the associates of Wike has also been silent on the call that Ayu, his kinsman should vacate the seat of PDP national chairmanship.
In the same vein, Delta State where Okowa, the vice presidential candidate of the party is governor, and Akwa Ibom State are not in the camp of the Ayu-Must-Go agitators.
Also, the voice of the Bayelsa Governor, Senator Duoye Diri has not been loud in the call for Ayu to vacate office. It was learnt last week that the Atiku camp believed that the Governor of Abia will also at the end of the day have no choice, but to support the presidential candidate of his party.
Wike had repeatedly threatened that Atiku should not bank on getting the votes of the people of Rivers in 2023.
Analysts said while it is true that Rivers delivered the largest votes to the PDP in southern Nigeria, Wike is not in control of the votes he has been boasting about.
Indeed, the Atiku camp already has other chieftains of the party working for it in Rivers and believes that with greater transparency being instilled in the electoral process, the powers of governors such as Wike to ‘deliver’ votes have diminished.
“These Governors are leaving office and are interested in installing their favourites who already have the tickets of the party as their successors. So, they may have no choice, but to support Atiku at the end of the day, no matter the outcome of their agitations for the removal of Ayu.
Even, Makinde is in a more difficult position with the presidential candidate of the APC from the South-west of the country. He must be firm and unequivocal about his membership of PDP if he is interested in a second term,” a source told this newspaper last week.
“Therefore, Wike and his allies may have lost out. The focus of Atiku will now undoubtedly be on winning the election as the division in the Southern chapter of PDP is in his favour. The support for him in the Northern chapter of the party is solid”.
