Atiku reacts to Wike group’s pull-out from 2023 presidential campaign, insists on sticking with Ayu

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the move by supporters of Governor Nyesome Wike who pulled out of his presidential campaign.

Atiku in a statement on Wednesday insisted that the national chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, who is at the center of the crisis is the only one who can decide to resign, and that he should not be forced out, except through ‘democratic processes’.

He further expressed his surprise at the withdrawal of Wike and his associates from the party’s campaign council, noting that every zone and state, except Rivers had sent names of representatives for the council.

Governor Wike has been in the forefront of calls for the resignation of Ayu. Stakeholders of the party in support of Wike’s call had announced early Wednesday morning that they would not be part of the party’s presidential campaign council until Ayu stores aside as party chairman.

Atiku said, “Early this morning, my attention was drawn to a news clip in which several very senior and influential members of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), addressed the press and, amongst other things, declared that they are withdrawing, forthwith, from the Presidential Campaign Council set up by our party to judiciously plan and prosecute the general elections set to hold in February and March 2023, on the one hand; and reiterated their earlier calls for the resignation or removal from office of the national chairman of our party, Senator Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, on the other hand.

Read also:More trouble for Atiku, Ayu as Gov Wike’s supporters pull out of 2023 PDP Presidential Campaign

“The people that addressed the press must have their reasons for withdrawing from the Presidential Campaign Council, and I will not speculate as to what those reasons may be.

“Personally, I am quite surprised with this withdrawal because, as I have been informed by officials of our party, apart from the Rivers State chapter of the PDP, all the remaining states of the federation submitted names of people who they wanted included in the Presidential Campaign Council.

“On the calls for the resignation or removal from office of our national chairman, however, I must reiterate what I have said severally in public and in private; the decision for Dr. Iyorchia Ayu to resign from office is personal to Dr. Ayu and, neither I nor anyone else can make that decision for him.

“As to the calls for the removal of Dr. Ayu from office, however, I will state that, as a committed democrat and firm believer in the rule of law and democratic tenets, and our party being one set up, organized 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 Dr. Ayu is to be removed from office, it must be done in accordance with the laws that set out the basis for such removal. In any event, you will all recall that the very body that is empowered by law to initiate this removal from office, has already passed a vote of confidence in him.

“Now, our nation is currently in the throes of a multidimensional crisis encompassing insecurity, economic meltdown, disunity and mutual mistrust and educational dislocations, to mention a few.

“I have a plan to address these issues and I have, graciously, been given the ticket to lead our great party in next year’s presidential elections, with the singular mandate to come and lead the efforts to cure these ills.

“It is in this light that I have reached out to every single member of our great party to join me in the massive undertaking required to reset the ship of state and help rebuild our country.

“And it is my fervent hope and prayer that every man and woman of goodwill will join hands with us to help rebuild and reposition our beloved country.”

He further said, “The above notwithstanding and for the sake of our country, our children, and those yet unborn, we must not, for one minute, shirk our responsibilities to rebuild this beloved country of ours.

“Accordingly, we must forge on with the task and the mandate that we have been bestowed with. It is time, therefore, to move on with the formidable tasks of nation building ahead of us”, his statement added.

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