Ayu Must Resign As PDP Chairman, Makinde Says

The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has called for the resignation of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.

Makinde made the demand at the PDP southwest stakeholders meeting in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state.

He said, “Our party wants to rescue Nigeria and our candidate is a unifier. He wants to restructure Nigeria,” he was quoted as saying by newsmen.

“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 a resounding yes.

“The message from the southwest PDP is that the southwest is asking that the national working committee (NWC) 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.”

Ayu has been under pressure in the last few months, with demands for his resignation coming from different quarters, especially the camp of Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state.

The call for Ayu’s resignation is said to be on the grounds that the national chairman and the presidential candidate of the party cannot be from the same region.

Amid the calls for his resignation, the national executive committee (NEC) of the party recently passed a confidence vote on him.

On Tuesday, Simon Imobo-Tswam, Ayu's special adviser on media, said the PDP chairman will travel to Europe and is expected to spend about two weeks.