Makinde tells Atiku, “Iyorchia Ayu must resign for peace to reign in PDP”

Makinde said this when he received the party’s presidential flag-bearer, Atiku Abubakar, at the South-West PDP stakeholders meeting in Ibadan on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.

Why is this important: Recall that the PDP has been embroiled in an internal turmoil since the conclusion of its presidential convention which produced Atiku as the winner.

The former Vice-President’s emergence has ensured that the party’s flag-bearer and National Chairman are both from the Northern part of the country, a development which hasn’t gone down well with some stakeholders from the South.

Ayu must go: Makinde, together with the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has insisted that Ayu must leave his current position for someone from the South to step in to correct the imbalance, but the chairman has remained adamant.

Makinde doubled down: During his welcome address at the Wednesday meeting with Atiku, the Oyo state Governor restated the position of the South-West over the crisis in the party.

Makinde, who described Atiku as “the incoming President of Nigeria in 2023,” said the PDP must first of all practice the unity agenda it hopes to sell to Nigeria.

Makinde’s word: “The truth is that we do not have any issue either with our party or our candidate. If there are challenges they must be tabled.

“We are supposed to give hope to our people, we want them to listen to us.

“Our party wants to rescue Nigeria and our candidate is a unifier. He wants to restructure Nigeria.

“Eight years of the All Progressives Congress have left us sharply divided. The issue is we must practice what we preach. If we want to unify Nigeria, we must unify the PDP first.

“If we want to restructure Nigeria, we must have the willingness to bring inclusivity to the PDP. Do we have the capacity? The answer is resounding yes.

“The message from the South-West PDP is the South-West is asking that the National Working Committee of the PDP should be restructured.

“We are asking the National Chairman to step down so that the South will be fully included. That is the message.”