…..No Vacancy In PDP Chair’s Office
By Musa Abdallah
I read a news story this afternoon which stated that the dismissed National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyorchia Ayu has withdrawn his appeal seeking to reverse his suspension from office.
With the withdrawal of the appeal, Ayu has vindicated a stalwart of the party and current national chairmanship aspirant, Engr Conrad Utaan who instituted the suit that led to Ayu’s removal following his suspension by the Igyorov ward executive committee of the party in March 2023.
Engr Utaan had approached the court seeking interpretation over the decision of the Igyovov ward executive committee of PDP in Gboko local government area to suspend Dr Ayu after they had passed a vote-of-no confidence on him. The party had accused Ayu among other things of not paying his party dues and not meeting other obligations of a member of the party.
Utaan in suit No: MHC/85/2023 had asked the court to uphold Ayu’s removal as the PDP National Chairman because he was no longer fit and qualified to occupy the office, having lost membership of the party in his Igyorov council ward, where he first registered as a member of the party.
The plaintiff further sought an order restraining Ayu from parading himself as the National Chairman of the PDP having lost membership of the party in his Igyorov Council Ward, among other reliefs.
The court eventually upheld Ayu’s suspension, but the embattled suspended chairman proceeded to the Court of Appeal to overturn the lower court’s decision.
But now that Ayu has withdrawn his appeal from court, my conclusion is that he has agreed with all the reasons that his Igyorov ward executive leveled against him and he has also admitted that Utaan was right to call for his removal from office as PDP chairman.
The decision of Ayu to withdraw the suit after a year in court is also being interpreted to be an offshoot of a plot by the Atiku Abubakar camp to take over the affairs of PDP ahead of the 2027 presidential election which Atiku plans to contest again. The serial contestant!
But I think Ayu is not being his own man! He has allowed Atiku’s lifetime presidential ambition to harm his political career.
But let me say this. Ayu, Atiku and whoever is working with them must know that there is no vacancy in the office of PDP National Chairman! They should get busy with other engagements.
The office which is currently occupied by the Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Iliya Umar Damagum is not vacant, so the last plot by Atiku, Ayu and their foot-soldiers is dead on arrival!
- Hon. Musa Abdallah is the Coordinator, PDP National Rebirth Movement who writes from Abuja.
