The Peoples Democratic Party National Executive Council on Thursday passed a vote of confidence on the party’s chairman Iyorchia Ayu.

The move comes amidst resignation calls by Rivers state governor Nyesome Wike that the chairman must step down.

A motion for the vote of confidence on the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) was moved by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu at the BoT and NEC meeting held in Abuja on Thursday.

The vote was supported by an NEC member from Kwara State and presided over by the acting chairman of the PDP BoT, Adolphus Wabara.

There have been several calls by the southern caucus of the PDP for the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to step down for a southerner, however, with the vote-of-confidence, it is almost certain that Senator Ayu will not be vacating the seat.

What Wike Said

The Rivers state governor has however insisted on Ayu’s resignation as the PDP’s National Chairman.

Wike said the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, told him in person when he won the May primary that Ayu must vacate his position as party chairman.

“When we finished our convention on a Saturday to Sunday, the candidate of the party (Atiku) came to see me in my house in Abuja on Monday around 10:30 am…The candidate told me: ‘I want us to work together and then he said, ‘Look, Ayu must go’.

“I said why? He said that when a candidate comes from the north, the chairman will come from the south. And I am saying, implement what you told me. What offence have I committed? It has nothing to do with Wike; it has to do with integrity.

“I challenge the presidential candidate to deny this. If he denies this, I will go further to say so many things to Nigerians because enough is enough,” the governor said on Thursday during the commissioning of the Ahoada Campus of the Rivers State University in the Ahoada East Local Government Area of the state.

Wike was at the occasion alongside his ally, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.

OduNews had earlier reported that the PDP’s Board of Trustees Chairman Walid Jibrin resigned and was replaced with former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara.

Wike however noted that Jibrin’s resignation would not dissuade him from insisting on Ayu’s resignation.

He said, ” “Some of you don’t know what is happening. You are being deceived; they are telling you Wike is causing the problems. Wike is not causing the problem; Wike is bringing peace to the country. Wike is advocating for justice, Wike is advocating for equity, and Wike is advocating for fairness.

“We have finished with the presidential primary. It is over and it is over. So, when people say, ‘You want to destroy the party because you didn’t win the primary, I think they are sick, they have some mental problem.”

The governor further described it as an insult, a statement credited to the former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, that he (Wike) is destroying the party because he lost the primary to Atiku.

“In a contest, there must be a winner, there must be a loser. I have no regrets. We contested the election very well and we are not ashamed,” Wike said.

Wike recalled that Ayu, before the national convention of the party in May, made a promise to resign should a northern presidential candidate emerge at the primary.

The governor explained, “When the North-Central met in the house of Governor Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi State, he (Ayu) said so there. When he met the caucus of the Senate, he told them that.”

“They have today told the BoT chairman to resign. Who is talking about the chairman of BoT? What is the role of the BoT? The boT is an advisory body. We have never zoned BoT. The boT is an advisory body; BoT is not a decision-making body.

“Those who run (the party) as it is today are the presidential candidate and the chairman of the party. The chairman of the party and the candidate or the President as the case may be are the ones that take decisions.

“The candidate is from the north, the chairman is from the north. Who will represent the south in the decision-making of the party? You have taken the candidate of the party. Yes, we have agreed. You can’t take the two major positions of a party. You cannot,” he added.