Seyi Makinde, the governor of Oyo State, has demanded the resignation of Senator Iyorchia Ayu, the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, in order to give the South’s citizens a sense of inclusion in the party.
Makinde made the call at the South-West PDP stakeholders meeting with the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The party’s national chairman and presidential candidate, both of whom are from the North, have come under fire from the governors of Oyo and Rivers states, respectively.
In his welcome address, Makinde described Atiku as “the incoming President of Nigeria in 2023,” which elicited a loud applause from the PDP stakeholders at the venue of the meeting.
He said,
“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,” the governor demanded.