PDP top brass press Ayu to resign for losing his polling unit, ward, council, state
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Iyorchia Ayu has come under greater pressure – after his ward suspended him at the weekend – to resign as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman for failing to deliver his polling unit, ward, council, and state in the presidential vote.
He was suspended by the executive committee of his Igyorov Ward in Gboko Council in Benue on Sunday after a vote of no confidence was passed in him.
Riding on that, PDP Deputy National Chairman Taofik Arapaja said Ayu should resign to facilitate rebuilding the party for the 2027 election cycle.
Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike and his G5 colleagues have demanded Ayu’s resignation for months.
A resolution passed at the end of the Igyorov Ward meeting and read by its Secretary, Banger Dooyum, accused Ayu of causing the PDP to lose the general election at state, council, and ward levels in Benue.
“He [Ayu] was involved in anti-party activities, making the PDP lose at his ward and local government along with his allies who also didn’t vote at the governorship election,” the resolution said in part.
The ward executives also accused him of failing to pay his annual dues as demanded by the PDP constitution.
Ayu’s suspension came 72 hours after the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) led by him announced the suspension of two PDP former Governors – Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) and Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) – for anti-party activities.
The NWC also suspended former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim, Dennis Ityavyar (from Benue), and Aslam Aliyu (Zamfara).
Arapaja told The Nation Ayu should resign because he failed to lead the party to victory in the presidential election and also lost his polling unit, ward, council, and state to another party.
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Party management not an academic exercise
Arapaja said party politics and management are not an academic exercise in which academics are regarded as experts, stressing that under Ayu’s leadership, Governors with large followings and great influence left the party without Ayu showing any concern, per The Nation.
His words: “Before the election, we told them that there must be justice and equity.
“We said the National Chairman should be a Southerner for the purpose of inclusiveness, having produced a presidential candidate of Northern origin. But they refused.
“When it was time to choose the vice presidential candidate, I was a member of the committee. We all agreed on Nyesom Wike.
“But they moved on without Wike and the entire G5 Governors. We had nothing to campaign with in the South.
“Another party zoned its presidency to the South. You can see the result now.
“It is time for us to go back to the drawing board and build a party in which there is justice and equity. Every political party must be able to deliver. If you are a leader and are unable to deliver, you need to step down.
“Ayu could not deliver his polling unit, his ward, local government and state, let alone the presidency.
“He is not a politician, and cannot continue to serve as the National Chairman of our party. He should step down. PDP is not a university; it is a political party.
“If he is a man of integrity, he does not need to be told to throw in the towel. The party needs to be completely rebuilt.”
Ayu’s immediate predecessor, Uche Secondus, was in 2021 removed in similar circumstances.
Secondus’s Ward executive in Rivers accused him of failing to pay his annual membership dues for 10 years. He was suspended a few weeks to the end of his tenure and did not regain the job until his tenure expired.
Ayu was elected National Chairman and resumed duty on December 9, 2021.