Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has expressed his view on the call for the resignation of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as the national chairman of the PDP.
Atiku, who led other leaders of the party to Ibadan on Wednesday on an interactive session with stakeholders of the party in the South-West said that the call for the recomposition of the National Working Committee was not impossible, but only when the constitution of the party has been amended to accommodate such demand.
According to him, “the Peoples Democratic Party is the oldest political party in Nigeria since the return of democracy and even before then. It is a party that has laid down rules and regulations.
“I have been a member of the party since when it was formed and I am still a member of the party up to the point of what it has grown to become.”
In his response to the call by some governors of the party calling for the ouster of Ayu as national chairman, which was also reaffirmed by the chief host of the event and governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde, Atiku said, “there is nothing any individual can do to change the outlook of the National Working Committee of the PDP.”
He remarked further that, “the PDP is a party where there are laid down rules and regulations. What Governor Makinde is asking for is possible only when we have amended our party’s constitution. As things stand today no single individual has the power to tamper with the NWC of the party. Doing so will be illegal and it will be against our rules in the party.
“I have no problem about anywhere any party member comes from but it must be done in accordance with the party’s constitution or regulations and practices.
“What governor Seyi Makinde is calling for is achievable under the party’s constitution under the party rules and regulations and procedures.
“This constitution must guide whatever changes we make, so that is why we cannot do anything outside that constitution unless it is amended.
“We do not say people should not have different views but all views must go through the party’s constitution, rules regulations and our practices”.
According to Makinde earlier, “Nigerians will not trust us to govern by the tenets of rule of law if we take such arbitrary action against our own party.
“The truth is that we do not have any issue either with our party or our candidate. If there are challenges they must be tabled.
“We are supposed to give hope to our people, we want them to listen to us.
Our party wants to rescue Nigeria and our candidate is a unifier. He wants to restructure Nigeria
“Eight years of the All Progressives Congress have left us sharply divided. The issue is we must practice what we preach. If we want to unify Nigeria, we must unify the PDP first.
“If we want to restructure Nigeria, we must have the willingness to bring inclusivity to the PDP. Do we have the capacity? The answer is resounding yes.
“The message from the South-West PDP is the South-West is asking that the National Working Committee of the PDP should be restructured.
“We are asking the National Chairman to step down so that the South will be fully included. That is the message.”
The Southwest stakeholders’ interactive session was attended by leaders of the PDP across the six states of the geopolitical zone with a common resolution to ensure victory for the PDP in next year’s general election. The PDP leaders who attended the interactive session included the chief host and Oyo State governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde; governorship candidate of the PDP in Ogun State, Chief Ladi Adebutu, former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose; Osun State Governor-elect, Senator Demola Adeleke; the governorship candidate of the PDP in Lagos State, Olajide Adediran and deputy governorship candidate of the PDP in Lagos State, Funke Akindele. Others are the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP and governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; Chairman, PDP’s Governors’ Forum and Governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Tambuwal; former Governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke; Deputy National Chairman of the PDP (North), Umar Damagum and national deputy chairman of the PDP (South) Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, among other stakeholders from the Southwest.