On Wednesday, Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate, set terms for the resignation of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, the party’s national chairman.
According to him, Ayu’s resignation had to be handled in conformity with the party’s bylaws, policies, and procedures.
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 made this announcement during the PDP Southwest stakeholders gathering, which was hosted in Ibadan’s well-known Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall of the University Teaching Hospital.
He was responding to the region’s decision, which demanded that Ayu resigns.
In order to win the next general elections, Atiku advised PDP members not to let the controversy distract them from their hard work.
The message of the region, that Ayu must resign to make place for justice and equality, has already been sent to the party presidential candidate by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.
Before the 2023 election, he said that the party’s structural difficulties needed to be resolved.
“If we want to unify Nigeria, we must unify PDP first. If we want a government of national unity, it must reflect in the PDP.
“If we want to restructure in Nigeria, we must restructure PDP first.
“Our presidential candidate is from the North-East, our National Chairman is from North Central, the Director General of Atiku campaign, Aminu Tambuwal, is from the North-West, so the PDP National Chairman should step down now for peace to reign,” Makinde said.
Responding on behalf of the National Chairman, the party’s Deputy National Chairman, North, Umar Damagum, called on members of the party to commit themselves and work for the victory of the party in the coming elections.
According to him, the choice of the venue for the meeting was deliberate because Ibadan was the capital of politics in the South-West and Nigeria at large.
Also speaking, the Chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum, Aminu Tambuwal, said the meeting was a sign of good things to come, and South-West would come back to PDP in 2023.
Those who accompanied Atiku to the meeting include the Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Bala Mohammed; Osun State governor-elect, Senator Ademola Adeleke.
Others were PDP governorship candidates, ex-Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko; ex-Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; ex-Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, and many others..