There seems not to be end in sight to the fight between National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, writes Emameh Gabriel
PDP’s National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, will have his real baptism of fire in conflict resolution as he faces one of Nigeria’s fiery politicians, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, the same time he prepares his party for another survival contest scheduled for early next year.
The stakes are high for Ayu and his chances to restore cohesion in the PDP looks slim; the time is short and the situation has been worsened by the war of wits and attrition between him and Wike as both actors try to wear down each other by series of attacks in the media.
Efforts aimed at calming the raging storm consuming the party in the last few months have met the bricks, a development that has left the PDP more vulnerable under its current leadership, and sadly in the face of a Third Force movement led by a former member of the party, Peter Obi, and a fraction of a breakaway of others, from different political parties and groups.
Many had thought that it was Uhuru for the main opposition party after the ousting of its former national chairman, Uche Secondus, last year and his subsequent replacement with Ayu and other new officials through consensus, a move that underlined the strong desire of the PDP to portray a veneer of unity and stability, and give order to an otherwise very difficult situation.
Just few months after its presidential primary, the party is again enmeshed in a serious internal wrangling among factions loyal to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Governor Wike, underlined by the conflict between Atiku Abubakar and Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, who is bent on removing the National Chairman of the party, Ayu, as one of the conditions to keep him and his supporters in the party.
As an experienced politician, who has learnt the ropes, there is no doubt Ayu is conscious of what is at stake- that apart from his responsibility to save the PDP from imminent implosion, it would take more than verbal war to pull down someone of Wike’s status, a man who has established himself as a sole financier of the party when all others, including Atiku, faltered and now with a good number of allies within the party’s ranks who are ready to pull the plug, should the party refuse to meet their demands.
It is obviously a tall order for Ayu and his National Working Committee (NWC) team of the PDP. His competence is on the scale and Ayu knows this. His quality in political brinkmanship has been put to test. Ayu must be concious of the fact that all eyes are on him and that he can’t afford to cause more damage to an already polarized party barely a year in office or worsen the situation he inherited.
Some analysts believe that Ayu has not in the real sense shown nor inspired leadership, especially through his utterances. They said drawing a battleline with Wike in an election year over issues of inclusion is a deservice to the PDP.
The composition of the Presidential Campaign Council has been stalled by the current crisis in the party leaving many in doubt as to if the PDP will recover any time soon to confront the ruling party at the presidential polls in few months from now.
The argument against Ayu’s actions is anchored on the fact that it is against the central and founding ideology of the party, which is consensus, same ideology that brought Ayu to office last year with the help of Wike, who fought to ensure that Secondus was sent packing.
Wike and his camp had since after the party’s presidential primary election insisted that as part of the conditions to remain in the PDP or work with Atiku, Ayu must resign as the national chairman of the party to balance the shelaring formula in the party.
On the other hand, Ayu has stated repeatedly that he would not resign, insisting that he was elected for a four-year tenure, hence leaving him and Wike in the centre of the crisis.
His action has confirmed insinuations in some quarters that the PDP might not be able to redeem itself due to conflicting interests among the actors in the middle of the current crisis rocking the party.
After the recent meeting between Atiku and Wike’s camp in London, the United Kingdom, spokesperson of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Festus Keyamo, in an interview with THISDAY had said, “some of those who met have interests that are so diametrically opposed that it would be difficult to find common grounds”.
This has been confirmed by the recent outbursts between both camps, with Ayu insisting that he would not give up his office to appease Wike and other governors of the party opposed to it and threatening to tear the party apart.
In a recent interview with BBC, Ayu described Governor Wike and members of the Governor’s camp calling for his resignation as mere noisemakers and children, who were not available when he and other party chieftains laboured to form the party.
Speaking in an interview on the Hausa service of BBC last Wednesday, Ayu argued that the presidential candidacy of Atiku Abubakar does not in any way affect his position as the PDP National Chairman.
He said even if Atiku had come from Benue State, it would not have justified the call for his resignation.
In his reaction, Governor Wike described Ayu as one exhibiting arrogance. Wike did not end there; he also vowed to work against the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
He said: “Ayu said we are children. Yes, the children brought you from the gutter to make you chairman. Now we have seen that you don’t want the party to win election, we will help you. These children you said we are, that brought you from nothing.
“Ayu, you said you founded this party, but you left the party in 2007. You founded a company, you left the company, people stood and brought out the company to what it is today, you have no moral right to still come and claim that you founded that company, you left with your shares.
“You want to show integrity, you want to show a party to Nigeria that we want to take over, you must convince Nigerians that we have the integrity.
“You are the driver that will drive the vehicle to convey us to go our destination. That is the victory we are looking for. If the driver has no integrity and cannot show honesty, how do you convince Nigerians?
“If you tell Nigerians something and cannot do it, is it when you enter into power that you will do it?
“Nigerians have seen how ungrateful some of you can be, and that’s why Nigerians also want to be careful, if we give these people power, are you sure they will also be grateful to Nigerians”.
Also commenting on the issue, former
South-West Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George, said Ayu must quit as national chairman of the party before the commencement of electioneering campaigns for 2023 general elections.
The PDP chieftain who was special guest at the inauguration of internal roads constructed by Rivers State Governor in Port Harcourt last week said the Ayu must resign for a Southerner to occupy the office for the sake of equity and justice, nothing that three key positions of the party, the presidential candidate, the national chairman and the BoT chairman cannot come from the North at the same time.
He said: “The issue of the Chairman of PDP must be addressed before commencement of campaigns for the 2023 elections. It is an antithesis and against the norms and culture of our party that our presidential candidate, our national chairman and the chairman of the Board of Trustee will come from one section of the country.
“Party members from the South are already feeling alienated. PDP is not a private company. So, before we start the presidential campaign at the end of this month, the National Chairman must go to the South. That is what Governor Wike is saying and as a life member of the Board of Trustees of our party, I support this position 100 percent.
“Statutorily, it is the National Chairman who hands over the party’s flag to our presidential candidate. How will party members from the South feel when they see that at all political rallies Southerners have no public political representation.
“But we can only go back to Aso Rock if we are united and not divided. Some people are abusing Governor Wike, he is a trouble shooter. Those abusing him, as an elder and as a father in this party, I am directing them, they must stop immediately.
“Because Governor Wike is only fighting for injustice, for equity, for fairness in our party. He is not only a strong pillar in this party, but a mobiliser, a financier and an actualizer. Since he joined the PDP, he has not left this party. Am also a founding father of the party and since 1998 I have not left this party.”
Wike, Atiku, Ayu take battle to NEC
The People’s Democratic Party will this week for the first time hold its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting since its national convention in May, 2022.
NEC is the second highest organ and decision making body of the party, with serving and former governors, principal officers of the National Assembly, members of the National Working Committee (NWC), members of the Board of Trustees (BoT), among others, as members.
It is the only party organ with the power to decide on the removal of the national chairman after the national convention.
The emergency NEC meeting slated for this week was necessitated after several failed attempts by stakeholders of the party to resolve the feud between the warring camps. The fate of the party hangs in the NEC as it will no doubt be the battleground in the battle of wits between the Rivers governor and Ayu.
The survival or otherwise of the PDP will depends on the outcome at its NEC meeting.
The PDP had after its presidential primary election been caught in a fresh circle of internal crisis. The emergence of Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as the vice presidential candidate of Atiku Abubakar, worsen the crisis in the party, with Wike and his supporters rocking the boat.
There are clear indications from multiple sources that Ayu might not survive the onslaught on the ground of logic, equity and justice as most founding members of the party are opposed to his continue stay in office after the emergence of Atiku, a northerner as the party’s presidential flag bearer.
It would be recalled that the PDP’s last NEC meeting scheduled for August, 2022, was called off by the party’s national leadership to save Ayu the embarrassment after it was gathered that majority of the party stakeholders were likely to use the meeting of the party organ to push for his sack.
Although Ayu has the backing of some stakeholders of the party from north central, this might not be enough to save him from his current ordeals as investigations and opinions from the party faithful have shown that he is not popular due to his leadership style, which appears to serve more of Atiku’s interest than the party.
There is much that remains unknown between Wike and Ayu, aside the former’s grievances over Atiku’s choice of his running mate.
It is reasonable for Wike and his allies to demand justice and inclusion to give them a sense of belonging as stakeholders of the party. Wike lost confidence in Atiku after losing at the presidential primary of the PDP and was promised a joint ticket with Atiku, a desire that never come to pass.
As the PDP holds its first NEC meeting this week, it shines a light on a new reality; that the outcome will make or mar the opposition party.
Although Ayu came into office through due process, there indications that the meeting may be the beginning of the party’s national chairman’s last days in office.
