A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Katch Ononuju, says the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar is rooting for the quick removal of the party chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.
According to him, Atiku’s decision was to enable him to have a peaceful contest that will help secure victory in the coming presidential election.
Ononuju was speaking on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily, where he was addressing the crisis rocking the party as well as the issues between Atiku and the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.
“From my own insider information, the candidate wants Mr Ayu to resign but there are hawks in the party who are telling them, ‘Ayu, don’t resign’. I don’t know why. The candidate wants Mr Ayu to leave so that he could have a peaceful party to go to the election, Onanuju said.
“If Atiku keeps saying he is a unifier, let him now unify the party by taking decisions and also acting to aid the southerners in this issue of inclusion,” he said.
He stated that Atiku did not just need to wish, but work towards unifying the party.
“He doesn’t just need to wish, he should work and act in aiding the stability in the party by working with others to ensure that Mr Ayu leaves so that the party can be stable,” he said.
He said Ayu is the reason for the current internal implosion of the party. “If he (Ayu) stays, he divides the party; if he stays, the party could lose. If he stays, the party implodes with the staying put.”
Ononuju added that the agitation for a southerner to replace Ayu was also beyond Wike, saying it was a collective demand by the southern caucus of the PDP who did not want northerners in the three top positions of the party as it is presently.