Coalition of Northern Nigeria Peoples Democratic Party Youth Movement, on Friday, protested at the PDP Secretariat in Kaduna, demanding the resignation of National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
The PDP is currently hit by crisis after Alhaji Atiku Abubakar emerged the party’s Presidential Candidate for the 2023 general elections.
Some PDP governors and leaders, particularly from southern Nigeria, are insistent that for fairness, northern Nigeria should not hold both the party’s presidential ticket and national chairmanship position.
Leading in the struggle for resignation of Ayu, who is from the North Central, is Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and other leaders of the party from southern Nigeria.
Spokesperson/Leader of the Coalition, Mr Shehu Isa-Dan’Inna, said they had been in PDP since 1999 without defection and had no plans to defect even in the future.
He said for the PDP to win Presidential seat in the coming 2023 elections, the party Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, must resign from his position as he had promised to.
Isa-Dan’Inna said for the PDP to project transparency as it had always done, the North could not hold about three key positions in the party.
“PDP is not a Northern Peoples Democratic Party nor Southern Peoples Democratic Party, we have to be just and united, to enable us to win at various levels in the coming 2023 general elections,” he said .
He noted that Ayu must go, to fulfil the promise he made that he would resign immediately after the parties primary elections if a Northerner emerged the party’s flag bearer.
Isa-Dan’Inna said they were reminding Ayu to fulfil his promise because they were tired of being in opposition.
He said the country needed back the PDP at the helms of its affairs for overall wellbeing of Nigerians.
“If the PDP’s internal crises persist, I don’t think we will win the presidential election.
“About six governors are fighting one governor; in the South we have about four presidential aspirants cut across different parties which will reduce our votes, and the ruling party again which is strong,” he said
“The other man is also so strong, we don’t want to devide our votes, that is why we are calling on Senator Iyorchia Ayu to resign.
“It will be better for us to lose Ayu as the PDP Chairman and clinch the Presidential seat, than to leave him and lose the presidency”, Isa-Dan’Inna said.
He called on the PDP Board of Trustees, National Working Committee and the PDP caucus to be just and fair in order to get the party to victory.
“If Ayu should keep to his promise, victory will surely be ours and Nigerians will smile again, the party leaders must act to salvage Nigerians, we don’t want to continue suffering,” he said.
The crisis got deeper on Wednesday, when loyalists to Wike’s caucus pulled out of the Abubakar presidential campaign council after a meeting in Portharcourt, Rivers.
The protesters carried placards with inscriptions reading: “Ayu Must Go”, “Ayu must step down”, “We need justice, fairness for all”.
