The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Publicity Secretaries in the South West zone have stated their support for Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as the party’s National Chairman, claiming that persistent calls for his resignation from some quarters are an attempt to undermine the party’s chances of winning the general elections in 2023.
The scribes made the claim on Saturday, September 17, 2022 during a press conference held at the PDP Secretariat on Agege Motor Road in Lagos and attended by scribes from Lagos, Hakeem Amode, Ondo, Kennedy Peretei, Ekiti, Raphael ‘Wumi Adeyanju, and Ogun state, Bankole Akinloye.
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Peretei stated that they rejected the National Chairman’s resignation “to save our country from impending utter collapse” in a statement titled: “PDP SouthWest Spokespersons Stand With Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman.”
According to Peretei, “We the Publicity Secretaries in these states respectively dissociate ourselves from calls for the resignation of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as PDP National Chairman. We speak on behalf of the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, State Chapters in Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti and Lagos State.
“We want to reaffirm our adherence to the PDP constitution, which lays out the steps for electing and removing the party’s leadership in unambiguous terms.
“As the only political party that has not changed name or logo since its establishment in 1998, the party cannot afford to appear unserious.
“We do not see any justification for the resignation of our National Chairman, especially at this very critical stage of preparation for elections.
“Ayu was duly elected at a properly constituted National Convention with a four year mandate and recently received vote of confidence of the party’s National Executive Committee, at its 97th meeting in Abuja.
“Our party has championed the sanctity of the PDP Constitution (2017 as amended) . We must therefore do everything to maintain this sanctity.
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“Any action that undermines the spirit of the party’s constitution at this crucial stage can only be considered as a deliberate attempt to sabotage the party’s efforts at winning in the coming general elections.
“We appeal to the leadership of our party in the Southwest region to work together to respect the Constitution of our party because, if we cannot respect our own rules, guidelines and constitution as a party, how will Nigerians trust us to respect the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria when voted into the office.
“The concern of our zonal leaders and their determination to protect the interest of our members against any form of marginalization is deeply appreciated.
“However, our focus should be directed mainly to encouraging our teeming members to rally round our candidates vying for the Houses of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate and Governorship positions and ensure that they win elections.
“The leadership of the party in the aforementioned states pledge our unwavering support and unalloyed commitment to our Presidential Candidate, former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.
“To prevent our nation’s impending total collapse, the mission to rescue, rebuild, and redirect Nigeria is a task that must be accomplished.”
