PDP removes national chairman Iyiorchia Ayu

The national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Iyorchia Ayu, has left office after more than a year of intense bickering that helped the main opposition party lose in the recent general elections.

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The party says Umar Damagum, its deputy national chairman (north), will take over as interim chairman.

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Mr Ayu took office in October 2021 as the party began preparations for the 2023 elections. His tenure quickly became rocky after top party members accused him of bias during the presidential primary in July 2022, and demanded his resignation.

Mr Ayu, a loyalist of the party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, held onto the office until the polls where the party came second behind the ruling APC, according to official results.

The party’s poor outing stoked further crisis, triggering more calls in recent days for Mr Ayu to go.

On Sunday, the party’s chapter in Mr Ayu’s ward in his native Benue state said it had suspended him. A day after, a court in Makurdi, the state capital, ruled that Mr Ayu should not perform the functions of the chairman until a case before it was determined.

“After a careful consideration of the Court Order and in line with Section 45 (2) of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017), the NWC resolved that the Deputy National Chairman (North) His Excellency, Amb. Umar Ililya Damagum assumes the National Chairmanship of our Party in acting capacity with effect from today, Tuesday, March 28, 2023,” PDP spokesperson Debo Ologunagba said in a statement Tuesday.

“The NWC charges all leaders, critical stakeholders, teeming members and supporters of our great Party to remain calm and united at this critical time.”