With four governors present, PDP NEC passes vote of confidence on Ayu

Members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) meeting in Abuja on Thursday passed a vote of confidence on the embattled national chairman of the party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu.

The meeting was witnessed by just four of its 11 governors including Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Darius Iskaku (Taraba), Duoye Diri (Bayelsa) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) as well as the Deputy governors of Benue and Adamawa states.

The motion to throw their weight behind the party boss was moved and adopted against the push by the Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State’s group to oust him to pave way for a southern member of the party to assume the post.

The motion of vote of confidence was moved by the House of Representatives Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu and seconded by Ishola Fulani from Kwara State.

In moving the motion, the lawmaker commended Ayu and his National Working Committee (NWC), noting that the recent electoral victory in Osun State would not have been possible without them.

He said: “Osun was impossible but God, through you people made it possible. You have shown maturity. Nigerians are suffering today and PDP is the only solution and that is why it is important for the PDP to unite.

“We must learn to forgive one another.
All of us cannot be chairman or presidential candidates. But together we can lead. If only we can be patient, we can lead.

The national cake of Aso Villa is too much for all Nigerians. And this cake means creating the necessary infrastructure for Nigerians, not making fake promises like APC.

“A lot has gone wrong. Let’s put it behind the anger and move forward. It is the devil that is trying to stop us from winning because they know, that in the spiritual realm, we have won.

“We can never be distracted. We must talk to our people to collect their PVCs.

“On behalf of my colleagues, we have decided…because the NWC have tremendously performed, our governors are our pride, forget what you are reading. They are united.

“I believe they will deliver their states for PDP come 2023.

“I move that a vote of confidence be put before the NEC for the NWC for their doggedness, forthrightness and their professionalism, especially in giving us Osun State and I believe they will give victory in the coming elections.”

In his remarks making allusion to the ongoing crisis in the party, the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 election, Abubakar, said it is normal for members of a family to have differences, appealing that the present quarrel should be resolved internally.

He said there are no fundamental disagreements within the party despite the impression being created.

He said: “Let me use this opportunity to thank all members of NEC for your wonderful support during the last convention where I emerged as the candidate of our party.

“I cannot thank you enough, my promise is that I will meet your expectations and the expectations of Nigerians. Let me also use this opportunity to thank our outgoing BoT Chairman for his services and sense of patriotism for our great party.

“Many speakers have alluded to family disagreement, family disagreements are normal even in normal families as well as political families. But what I can assure you is that we are determined to resolve those issues internally.

“There are not really fundamental disagreements, it is normal.

“Today, PDP is the oldest political party in Nigeria from the past republic till today, no political party has existed as long as the PDP.

“As a political party, we have our constitution, our rules and our regulations. I want to urge that no matter the level of disagreement, it should be resolved within our constitution, within our rules, and within our regulations.

“We have all that it takes to guide us to continue to nurture this political party, to provide a platform for all Nigerians to realize their collective and individual aspirations.

“Therefore I wish to appeal to all members of our party to make sure that all our disagreements are resolved internally.”

Also speaking, Ayu who has been in the centre of the storm, noted that despite the perception outside, the main opposition party remains united and ready to assume power next year because Nigerians are yearning for it.

He said: “And I believe this party is as united as anything in spite of whatever impression other people may want to create. Anybody who is here can see the enthusiasm and the harmony at this party. It is normal to have family issues. Sometimes you have family disagreements and we settle.

“This party is famous for settling all disagreements and going on to win elections in the party. This time is not an exception.

“I am happy that the majority of Nigerian people are interested in our party and so because we disagree among ourselves is our capacity to resolve it. We have done it before and I believe the Nigerian people will give us their mandate. We need to focus on what worries the Nigerian people.”

Thursday’s NEC meeting was preceded by that of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party where its chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin, announced that he has stepped down from the post.

The action is in line with his stance that there is the need for realignment of the key positions in the main opposition party following the emergence of Atiku as the presidential candidate of the party for the 2023 presidential election.

The former vice president’s emergence had placed the ticket in the northern zone just like the office of the National Chairman and that of BoT.

The Nasarawa State-born Jibrin has been the most vital voice in the party to canvas for the move to restructure the party offices to reflect diversity as he posited that it is unfair for both the presidential candidate of the party and its national chairman to come from the same zone.

“To tell the truth, it will not be fair for the president of Nigeria to be from the north, the chairman of the party from the north and the BoT chairman from the north,” Jibrin had argued before Thursday’s resignation.

In his place, former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, was appointed in an acting capacity.

Speaking later in the NEC meeting, Wabara affirmed that the PDP can resolve its differences, advising aggrieved members to control their temper.

He said: “The PDP has an inbuilt mechanism to solve problems. We have done it several times. When people expect us to implode, that is when we become very glorious.”

The former senate president counselled that members should endeavour to present their grievances for in-house resolution, saying: “Let us deprive ourselves in-house rather than playing to the gallery.

“We should watch and control our utterances because by and large, only God knows tomorrow.

“Because once you voice out something, it is always difficult for you to pick back what you voice out.

“My advice to use is that we should be mature enough to control our temper.’

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE