From Paul Osuyi, Asaba

Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation spokesman, Mr Charles Aniagwu, has said that sacking the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Iyiorcha Ayu, would plunge the main opposition party into deeper crisis ahead of the 2023 general elections.

PDP has been experiencing internal squabble since Atiku’s emergence as presidential candidate with his main challenger at the primary, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, among others, insisting that Ayu must give way for a southerner to mount the saddle as party chairman since both Atiku and Ayu are from the North.

Already, party’s Board of Trustees chairman, Walid Jubril, a northerner, has resigned paving way for Adolphus Wabara from the South as the new BoT chairman.

But the development has not placated aggrieved members, including Wike who are standing their ground that Ayu must go.

However, Aniagwu who spoke during a live television programme yesterday, said that as a listening party, the PDP is taking a second look at the issues based on what was permissible by the laws of the party.

Aniagwu, who is also the Delta State Commissioner for Information, said that sacking Ayu would create constitutional crisis for the party, which would snowball into greater problems than what the party is currently facing.

He noted that the main issue being canvassed by the stakeholders for the national chairman to step down has now been overtaken by events following the vote of confidence by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party on him.

He pointed out that because the position of Ayu was elective even if he steps down for power to come to the South, the provisions of the constitution of the party would also be offended.

“That can only happen if you can also take a decision to remove the Deputy National Chairman of the party who the lot immediately falls on by provisions of the law.

“Even if the party is able to solve that puzzle by bringing both National Chairman and Deputy to South, the third person in the hierarchy of the National Working Committee of the party is the National Secretary and that is in the South specifically Senator Samuel Anyanwu from Imo State.

“Now if you decide to bring this two positions to the South, have you also made arrangements to take the National Secretary to the North?

“That greater crisis is what the ruling APC is waiting to happen, but the leadership of the party is intelligent enough and I’m happy that Governor Nyesom Wike and other leaders appreciate the need for the party to move as a whole into the 2023 general elections,” he said