PDP heading nowhere unless Ayu resigns — Bode George

Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, on Thursday, insisted on the resignation of the national chairman of the party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, to allow a southerner to take over.

George, who has consistently said it is a misnomer for both the national chairman and presidential candidate to come from the same zone, stressed that the current arrangement is unfair to the South.

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Speaking with newsmen yesterday, George also dismissed the vote of confidence passed on Ayu and the party’s NWC at its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting last week.

It would be recalled that the PDP leader had walked out of the meeting, ostensibly over the refusal of Ayu to step down.

Daily Trust reports that there has been mounting pressure from the South for Ayu to step down following the emergence of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a northerner as the party’s presidential candidate.

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State re-echoed the call for Ayu’s resignation on Wednesday when Atiku met PDP South-West stakeholders in Ibadan.

Speaking yesterday, George said the party may lose the next election unless the right thing was done by giving the South a sense of belonging.

He stated that the scenario now is different from the era of former President Olusegun Obasanjo when the party had its presidential candidate and national chairman from the North.