By Ogochukwu Isioma
A former Deputy National Chairman of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Bode George, has asked the National Chairman of the party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, to resign.
George said Ayu should honour his earlier promise to resign if the 2023 presidential candidate of the party is picked from the northern part of the country.
He said the emergence of the national chairman and party’s standard bearer from one region has violated the principle of inclusivity in PDP.
metrowatchxtra recalls that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a northerner, was elected as the standard bearer of the PDP for next year’s general elections. Ayu is from Benue State, in middlebelt, which is considered a northern Nigerian state.
Following the crisis rocking the party over the choice of a vice-presidential candidate, particularly the faceoff between Atiku and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, George said Ayu must now bow out of office.
Ayu had in an interview with journalists after his emergence as PDP national chairman, promised to resign if the party stakeholders say so should the PDP produce a northern presidential candidate.
As the rumbles continue, the PDP national chairman, only recently backtracked, saying he would only go if members of the National Working Committee (NWC) which he heads swap their positions with their counterparts from other region.
However, for Bode George, leader of the PDP in Lagos, the party should put its house in order ahead of next year’s polls. He advised Atiku and Wike to sheathe their swords in the interest of the party.
George said: “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.
“In a democracy, we must always talk and exchange ideas. We must discuss, agree and disagree on issues without being absolutely disagreeable. Since our convention, I have been away and I have been watching, now naturally, in any organisation no matter the organisation once it is made up of human beings, you will have infractions, disagreements and all kinds of positive and negative issues. But the ability to be able to manage those crises for you to arrive at a positive conclusion would be a measure of your capacity.
“Now we are going into the election year, yes, we have some problems in our party but they are not insurmountable. First, I want to appeal to all sides to sheath their swords because we are on a political journey and we must convince the people that we have the capacity and the ability to manage the resources of this country for the benefit of all,” he added.
George advised Wike to emulate him by making sacrifices for the platform. He said although he aspired to serve as National Chairman, he had to bury the ambition when it was not zoned to the South-West, contrary to the expectation of party faithful in the region.
The PDP elder recalled that the founding fathers of the party had promised the distribution of six core positions among the six geopolitical zones to foster equity and unity. He listed the positions as president, vice president, Secretary to Government of the Federation, Senate President, House of Representatives Speaker and National Chairman, which heralded the culture of zoning and rotation in the country.
