PDP CRISIS: Bode George gives deadline for Ayu to step aside

Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the South-West, Chief Bode George, has once again, insisted that the National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, must resign and be replaced by a southerner before September 28 when campaigns for the 2023 election are scheduled to begin.

George reiterated his call for Ayu, who is from the northern part of the country, same with the Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP, should step down in the interest of the party and could not continue to hold the position as a result.

The PDP chieftain, while addressing a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, said Ayu’s refusal to “fulfil his promise of stepping down” meant that members of the party in the south were of no importance.

“Let me reiterate again that the will of the people must be respected and the six top offices in the country must be distributed equitably and fairly because PDP is not a private company,” he said.

“The office of the National Chairman must come to the South before we commence the presidential campaign if victory is to be secured in the next general election.

“In May this year, we elected our presidential candidate in the person of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, setting aside the principle of rotation as enshrined in the constitution of our party in the interest of peace and unity of our party.

“Today, we are in a situation in which our National Chairman is from the same zone as our presidential candidate.

“Some people are insisting that there is nothing wrong with this present arrangement. Some have argued that this happened during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, where the candidate and the national chairman were from the same zone.

“But we are saying Ayu must resign before September 28 when election campaign will start,” he insisted.