From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
How long can former Senate President, Iyorchia Ayu, survive as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)? This is the question on the lips of party stakeholders as aggrieved members of the party continue to push for the ouster of the Benue-born opposition leader.
Ayu has been in the eyes of the storm since the Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa emerged as the 2023 vice presidential candidate of the PDP with supporters of the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike insisting on his sack.
Okowa’s choice had not gone down well with Wike’s loyalists, who felt the latter ought to have been the vice presidential candidate of the opposition party. The Rivers governor’s men who strongly believe that Ayu allegedly influenced the choice of the PDP’s vice presidential candidate, are irked by the claims of the national chairman that Okowa was chosen by a consensus.
Prior to the unveiling of the Delta governor, a high profile committee set up by the PDP to shop for a suitable running mate to its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar had reportedly voted in favour of the Rivers governor by 13 votes to three.
However, Ayu while speaking at Okowa’s unveiling, had said the committee did not vote in favour of any particular person as Atiku’s running mate. “I want to clarify one misrepresentation in the social media. Through out the committee meeting, there was no voting. The committee did not vote through out their sitting. It was all by consensus,” he had stated.
Since that event, the opposition party has been polarized with various party organs including the National Working Committee ( NWC), PDP governors forum, as well as the Board of Trustees ( BoT) torn between Wike and the former vice president.
Wike is backed by Governors Samuel Ortom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Okezie Ikpeazu, Seyi Makinde of Benue, Enugu, Abia and Oyo states respectively, as well as some former governors, former ministers, and some former and serving members of the National Assembly. Wike’s supporters after a meeting in Abuja recently, insisted that the PDP chairman must be replaced by a southerner, as condition for reconciliation in the party.
Efforts to resolve the party crisis have been stalled by disagreements between the Wike and Atiku camps on whether or not Ayu should be sacked as national chairman before the 2023 general elections.
The PDP chairman was accused of alleged bias in the processes leading to the emergence of the party’s presidential candidate and running mate. Ayu the day after the PDP convention, had visited the Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, in his Abuja residence, where he was seen in a short video clip hailing the governor as the “hero of the convention”.
That did not go down well with many leaders of the party, who argue that Ayu’s description of Tambuwal “as hero of the convention” is an indication that he was allegedly privy to the negotiations that led to the Sokoto governor’s withdrawal from the contest for the PDP presidential ticket. Tambuwal had withdrawn from the PDP presidential contest at the 11th hour and directed his supporters to vote for Atiku, who eventually clinched the ticket.
However, Ayu said the allegations of bias, in the emergence of the PDP presidential candidate and his running mate, against him are unfounded.
The party chairman, who spoke through his spokesman, Simon Imobo-Tswam, told Daily Sun, in a recent interview, that he kept his promise to provide a level playing field for everyone during the party’s convention.
“I don’t believe it that the national chairman was partisan. The convention was free, fair, credible and transparent,” Imobo-Tswam stated, adding that “we can’t condemn him for describing someone who exercised his freedom( as hero of the convention). What the chairman is alleged to have said does not take away from the transparency, from the integrity and the credibility of the convention.”
Furthermore, he posited that it is wrong for anyone to blame Ayu for the inability of Wike to clinch the PDP vice presidential candidate’s slot for the 2023 polls. According to him, “Atiku Abubakar is the candidate of the party. Only him have a final say on who runs with him. Not Dr Iyorchia Ayu.”
Regardless, the demand for Ayu’s resignation or sack, which has resonated with some leaders of the party, especially from the South, is hinged on the need to strike a North/ South balance, especially as the presidential candidate is from the North.
Nevertheless, the PDP chairman, in a recent statement by Imobo-Tswam ruled out the possibility of resigning, as “he was elected for a tenure of four years.” The opposition party spokesman, Debo Ologunagba has also ruled out the removal of the national chairman before the 2023 polls.
Ironically, Ayu after his emergence as national chairman had said he would resign if someone from the North emerges as presidential candidate and the party wants him to go.
Some PDP leaders, including a former deputy national chairman, Chief Olabode George, says the national chairman must honour his promise in the overall interest of the party. According to George ,” Ayu said once the presidential candidate emerged from the North, he will resign. I want to take on him for his word. Why are you now trying to reverse the role? Your word must be your bond.”
On the flip-side, a former national chairman of the party, Kawu Baraje, in a television interview, last week, said though the PDP has a principle of zoning of offices, there is nothing unusual in both the national chairman and presidential candidate coming from the same zone. Baraje noted that usually, it is after the party had won the presidential election that the chairmanship is re-zoned to achieve North/South balance.
Three weeks ago, the PDP called for a meeting of its National caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) over fears that the Wike camp will seize the opportunity to oust the chairman.
Nevertheless, the noose is seemingly tightening on Ayu, in the aftermath of last week’s parley between Atiku and Wike in London. Atiku had rushed to London to meet with the Rivers governor and his men, after the aggrieved PDP governors met with the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
In attendance at the London meeting were Wike, Ortom, Ikpeazu and Makinde while the PDP presidential candidate was accompanied to the meeting by his state governor, Ahmadu Fintiri.
Daily Sun gathered that Ayu’s replacement was one of the key issues made by Wike and his men while the presidential candidate allegedly promised to get back to the group.
Multiple sources said the Atiku/ Wike London parley has created panic among supporters of Ayu. The national chairman’s men, who are also Atiku’s supporters, it was learnt, were shocked that Atiku could travel all the way to London to meet with Wike and his men.
Incidentally, Atiku through his media aide, Paul Ibe, had in a statement, on Thursday, cautioned his supporters against making inflammatory comments that will jeopardise the unity of the party.
A highly placed party source told Daily Sun that Ayu’s supporters, including a former North West governor, interpreted Atiku’s London meeting with Wike and the statement cautioning his supporters against inflammatory statements, “ as a sign that Atiku wants to ditch them”.
Analysts say Ayu’s fate is undoubtedly hanging in the balance, especially with the renewed efforts by Atiku to close ranks with the Wike group, so that the party can go into the next election as a united house.
Pundits say the insistence of the Wike camp for the replacement of Ayu as a condition for reconciliation has put Atiku in a fix, where he may have to choose between the group’s support for his life long presidential ambition and the national chairman.
Analysts say the PDP chairman’s plight is worsened by the fact that he does not enjoy the support of his state governor. Ayu and Ortom are said to have fallen out during the nomination of candidates for the 2023 polls in Benue.
In the history of the PDP, no national chairman has survived a vote of no confidence from his governor. For instance, former PDP chairmen like Okwesilieze Nwodo, Bamangar Tukur and recently Uche Secondus lost in the power tussle, immediately they fell out with their respective state governors.
The PDP chairman, apparently, understands this. In the aftermath of Atiku/Wike London parley, the PDP chairman is making frantic efforts to save his job. Last Saturday, Ayu and members of the NWC were in Makurdi, the Benue State capital for the birthday of the governor’s wife, Eunice Ortom. Nevertheless, a top party official told our correspondent that Ayu’s trip to Makurdi was a social visit to honour the governor’s invitation to his wife’s birthday. According to the party official, contrary to speculations, there is no problem between Ortom and the PDP chairman.
Many believe the Benue trip was intended to serve as an avenue for a rapprochement between the Wike camp and the national chairman. However, it is yet unclear whether or not that peace mission has given any respite to the PDP leader.
In all of these, the question is: Would Ayu survive the onslaught of the Wike group or would he go the way of most of his predecessors?