PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu won’t quit – PDP fires back at Wike, Bode George

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has revealed that its National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, won’t leave the party.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, said the removal of Ayu would be a distraction to the PDP.

The spokesman of the party has said the removal of the chairman would trigger a constitutional crisis in the party.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and a former Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Olabode George, had called for the removal of Ayu from the office of the national chairman of the party.

However, Ologunagba, in a chat with journalists in Abuja, the country capital, said: “Those calling for Ayu’s removal ought to be aware of the implication of their demand. Are they now saying that the present Deputy National Chairman (North), who is from the same Northeast zone as our presidential candidate, be made to replace Ayu, in line with the PDP constitution?

“On the other hand, we would be courting more crisis if we sideline provisions of the constitution by replacing Ayu with another officer from the South.

“We don’t want to go into the election with a constitutional crisis. We have barely six months to the election.

“Even if you say Ayu should go today, his replacement will come from the same North.

“Elections are coming and we don’t need a distraction. You can’t destroy the whole for a part. We respect people’s rights and positions but going into negotiations, you cannot say it is either this or nothing.

“It means you’re not ready to negotiate. We are all interested in the survival of our party and our nation Nigeria. We will look at the need to do the balancing.”