PDP bent its Constitution for Atiku, others to compete in party primary —Bode George

As some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continue to call for resignation of the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu in the interest of inclusivity, a chieftain of the opposition, Olabode George, has said the participation of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and other northern aspirants in the presidential primary election, was at variance with the constitution of the party.

This came as a reaction to the statement released by Atiku following the withdrawal of Governor Nyeson Wike’s camp from the presidential campaign activities of the party, where he insisted on sticking to the party’s constitution in efforts to remove Ayu from office.

Key members of the party from the South, including Governors Nyeson Wike, Seyi Makinde and others, pulled out from the campaign over the failure of the National Chairman to step down.

Speaking in a Channels Television interview on Wednesday, George noted that constitution of the party was bent over backwards for Atiku Abubakar to participate and eventually emerge the party’s standard bearer.

He recalled that the National Chairman promised to step down upon the emergence of a northerner as the presidential candidate, adding that the persistent calls for his resignation were purely on moral basis.

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

“The issue we are talking about is purely moral. This is not about the issue of constitutionality. We used the same moral to allow Atiku Abubakar to compete in the presidential primary. The Constitution of the party was bent over backwards. If Northern candidate emerges President after President Muhammadu Buhari, doesn’t that affect the inclusivity envisaged by our founding fathers?”, George said

“It is rather unfortunate that the presidential candidate talked about the issue of constitution. The onus on him is that he is a unifier. If he can’t unite the party, how does it tend to unite Nigeria?”, he added.

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