Delta guber primary: Protesters storm PDP headquarters, ask Ayu to resign

Some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Wednesday, protested at the party’s headquarters, demanding the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu.

The demonstrators, under the platform of Concerned Deltans for Good Governance, besieged the PDP national secretariat, saying Ayu, national chairman of the party, has “deliberately” refused to obey a court order disqualifying Sheriff Oborevwori as PDP governorship candidate in Delta.

TheCable had reported how Oborevwori was disqualified by a federal high court in Abuja over alleged certificate forgery.

In May, Oborevwori, speaker of the Delta house of assembly, polled 590 votes to beat his closest rival, David Edevbie, commissioner for finance during the James Ibori administration, who polled 113 votes.

While Oborevwori is the preferred candidate of Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta governor, Ibori, the former governor of the state, is said to be backing Edevbie.

Aggrieved by the outcome of the primary, Edevbie filed a suit against Oborevwori and the party, citing discrepancies in Oborevwori’s certificates.

In July, Taiwo Taiwo, judge of a federal high court in Abuja, disqualified Oborevwori for submitting false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to back his nomination as PDP’s governorship candidate.

Not satisfied with the verdict, Oborevwori filed an appeal through his lawyer, Joe Agi.

The PDP candidate had also filed an application in a high court, praying for a stay in the execution of the judgment pending the determination of the appeal.

Addressing journalists in front of the PDP secretariat on Wednesday, Chris Anthony, who spoke on behalf of the protesters, said the national leadership of the PDP led by Ayu has shown “incompetence” by not complying with the court order.

“The implication of the PDP action on the Delta issue is that they are trying to throw up the fortunes of the PDP in Delta,” he said.

“Everybody knows that the PDP in Delta state is the majority party and there is no other political party in Delta state apart from the PDP.

“But with the action of the national chairman of the party, we are beginning to be convinced of what people have been saying that Ayu is a mole in the PDP to throw up Delta state PDP to the opposition.

“We see Ayu as a mole in the PDP. He is playing the script of the APC just to actualise the emergence of an APC governor in Delta.

“He lacks the capacity to lead the PDP and so he should honourably resign. He has demonstrated gross incompetence in handling the affairs of the party. He should resign. Ayu should resign. He does not have the capacity to manage the affairs of the PDP.”