The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), witnessed severe turbulence in 2022 that peaked in the weeks leading up to the Presidential campaigns and later gave rise to the G5 Integrity Group.
The crisis within the party took a turn for the worse in May after Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, lost the PDP presidential primaries to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, from Adamawa State.
Wike insisted that the party’s Chairman Iyorchia Ayu must resign since he was from the same geo-political zone as Atiku and ultimately pulled out of the PDP’s presidential campaign council.
He criticised the party for releasing its Presidential Campaign Council list without first seeking to resolve the issues that had plagued the party through its internal conflict resolution mechanisms or address the calls for Ayu’s resignation.
The Governor insisted that nowhere does the party’s constitution state that the president and the chairman of the party should come from the same zone, adding that there would be no peace in the PDP unless Ayu resigned.
“They are denying my people their own right. This has nothing to do with Northern domination. Zone the chairmanship to anywhere in the South, not necessarily Rivers State.
“We are not going to back down. Some of them are hypocrites that want to eat the crumbs from the master’s table. There is no single law in the PDP that allows these two positions to come from the same zone,” he said.
Although Wike has vowed to remain in the party, he and four other counterparts now referred to as the G5 Governors have formed an alliance to rebuild the PDP and wrestle power from the ruling party in 2023.
The Integrity Group is made up of Governor Wike of Rivers State, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Governor Makinde and Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, but enjoys the backing other of leaders and elders of the party.
For example, former minister of information Jerry Gana, said the PDP cannot restructure Nigeria if it cannot restructure itself.
“This call for the chairman to step down or resign is not because any of us is aggrieved, but because we believe it is important to ensure a fair structure, a just structure, a principle structure, a constitutional structure for the party,” he said.
Gana said the Integrity Group would remain committed members of PDP, but would continue to insist that the right things be done. “We remain PDP, but we want things done justly, fairly, equitably.”
Similarly, a former Governor of Gombe State Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, said he would work for the party to the extent that fairness, equity and justice were ensured in the party.
Ayu’s Refusal to Resign and Atiku’s Neutrality
The PDP Chairman, however, refused to succumb to calls for his resignation, stressing that those urging him to stepdown were political amateurs who lacked a basic understanding of party’s principles.
“I was voted as PDP national chairman to serve for four years, I am not even a year old on the position,” the former senator said during an interview, adding: “Atiku’s victory at the national primaries has no nothing to do with the party’s leadership”.
Ayu also denied the allegation of corruption levelled against him by Wike, stating that he did not collect the alleged bribe of N1 billion, neither did he violate any rule of the party.
“I have not violated any rules; in fact, I am working to bring reforms to the party. I am truly not bothered by the unnecessary controversy being generated,” Ayu maintained.
Ayu was also accused of bribing some members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to win their support, an allegation that generated more controversies and forced some members of the NWC to publicly announce their refund of over N120 million to the chairman.
Meanwhile, the PDP presidential candidate in the wake of mounting pressure for Ayu’s resignation, resisted the urge to take sides but continued to bridge peace and unity between the warring parties.
He noted that the country was currently in the throes of a multidimensional crisis encompassing insecurity, economic meltdown, disunity and mutual mistrust and educational dislocations, and urged supporters of the party not to abandon the party at this critical time.
Atiku explained that the council was established “to judiciously plan and prosecute the general elections” and that all hands must be on the deck if the party must win at the general elections set to hold in February and March 2023.
On calls for the Chairman’s resignation, he said: “As a committed democrat and firm believer in the rule of law and democratic tenets, and our party being one set up, organised and regulated by law and our constitution, it is my absolute belief that everything that we do in our party must be done in accordance with, and conformity to, the law and our constitution.
“If Ayu is to be removed from office, it must be done in accordance with the laws that set out the basis for such removal,” he added.
It remains to be seen whether the aggrieved members of the party would set aside their differences and be united by their common vision to reclaim power from the All Progressives Party next year, or if factions would continue along divisive lines at the cost of victory for the PDP.
