MAN IN THE NEWS: Ayu, the party chairman talking war in search of peace

Iyorchia Ayu, national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is the captain of a ship caught in a raging storm while at the same time surrounded by icebergs. There’s chaos on the deck and tempers are running high, as a cloud of uncertainty and fear of the unknown pervade the air. Ahead of the 2023 elections, this is akin to the present state of the leading opposition party.

Ayu — who came into office after the acrimonious exit of Uche Secondus as PDP chairman — made what is regarded as his first major gaffe a day after the party’s presidential primary election in May 2022, when he openly described Animu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto, as the “hero of the convention”.

Tambuwal, who was a contestant in the primary, had made a last-minute withdrawal from the race and asked his supporters to vote for Atiku Abubakar who later won the election.

Believed to have taken sides in the presidential primary, Ayu came under criticism from party stakeholders, and ever since, the party has flirted with one crisis after another, with the national chairman unavoidably at the centre of it all.

WHO IS AYU?

Born in Gboko LGA in 1952, Ayu is a politician from the Tiv-speaking tribe of Benue state. He attended Mount Saint Gabriel Secondary School, Makurdi before proceeding to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to study sociology.

He would later travel abroad for his post-graduate studies at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom.

Before joining the murky waters of politics, he taught sociology at the University of Jos and was a one-time chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), UniJos branch.

In 1992, Ayu was elected to the senate to represent Benue north-west senatorial district on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

In the Third Republic, Ayu was elected as the fourth president of the senate. But his stint in the red chamber was short-lived as he was impeached in 1993. He had opposed the interim national government established after the 1993 election — presumably won by MKO Abiola — was annulled.

Ayu was later appointed minister of education by the late Sani Abacha, the then military head of state. He served in the role from 1993 to 1998.

The former senate president was part of the G9, which later became the G18 and then the G34, which ultimately gave birth to the PDP — and he also played a role in the 1998 campaign to elect former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

When Obasanjo won the presidency in 1999, Ayu was appointed as minister of industry, a position he occupied from 1999 to 2001.

He also served as the minister of internal affairs and minister of the environment until December 2005 when he was sacked by Obasanjo.

ATIKU’S ASSOCIATE

After Obasanjo sacked him, Ayu left the PDP and joined the Action Congress (AC). He was head of the campaign to elect Atiku Abubakar who was seeking to become president in 2007.

In February 2007, Ayu was arrested and arraigned at a federal high court in Abuja on terrorism charges.

He was accused of “plotting” with two others to cause unrest in the Delta state, using a militant group. He was later released on bail.

WHY IS AYU IN THE NEWS?

Ayu has been under pressure of late, with calls for his resignation coming from different quarters amid the party’s internal crisis.

Some party members demanded that he resign since he is a northerner like Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the party, and Walid Jubil, the PDP BoT chairman.

Among those calling for Ayu to step aside are Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, and his allies — as a precondition for resolving the rift with Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate.

Crisis broke out in the party after Abubakar picked Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, as his running mate for the 2023 elections, overlooking Wike who was recommended by a panel comprising NWC members and governors.

But despite the pressure to throw in the towel, Ayu doesn’t want to give up his four-year tenure, given that he has barely spent 10 months in office.

Not only did he dismiss the calls for his resignation, but he also described those behind them as children.

Speaking with BBC Hausa on Wednesday, he said: “I was voted as PDP chairman for a four-year tenure and I am yet to complete a year. Atiku’s victory doesn’t affect the chairman’s position. I won my election based on our party’s constitution.

“I didn’t commit any offence. I’m only reforming the party so I’m not bothered with all the noises. I know I’m doing my work and I didn’t steal any money so I see no reason for all these talks.

“When we started the PDP journey, we did not see these children. They are children who do not know why we established this party.

“We will not allow one person to come and destroy our party.”

‘IMMATURE’ CHAIRMAN

Party members opposed to Ayu’s leadership believe has not handled the internal strife properly and that by hailing Tambuwal as a “hero”, he contributed to the widespread dissafection.

He reportedly rejected the recommendation of the national working committee (NWC) to lead a delegation to Rivers for fence-mending talks with Wike.

Embroiled in wrangling that was waning its chances of winning the 2023 presidential election — the opposition party needed a troubleshooter to steer its course. But Ayu has not been able to do what was expected — soothe jittery nerves and cajole the aggrieved — instead, he talked war while searching for peace.

On Thursday, Bode George, chieftain of the party, said Ayu is being “immature” with his stance, adding that a southerner should be PDP chairperson in light of the current circumstances in the party.

“You see, hear when a serving national chairman of our party is calling elected governors children. Does he think that children don’t grow? Or there is a life perpetual on him? We need to watch our language. It shows to me that it is him that is immature,” he said.

“It is an antithesis and against the norm and culture of our party that the presidential candidate, our national chairman, and the chairman of the board of trustees will come from one section of the country.

“Statutorily, it is the national chairman, who hands over the party’s flag to our presidential candidate. How will party members of the south feel when they see that at all political rallies, southerners have no public political representation?

“This constitutes a fundamental flaw and lack of inclusiveness, which will be diametrically opposed to the original thinking of the founding fathers of the party.”

WILL HE BE REMOVED LIKE HIS PREDECESSOR?

Ayu was elected as national chairman on October 31, 2021.

But the election was a mere formality to enthrone him. He had been adopted as the consensus candidate for the position.

His predecessor, Uche Secondus, was removed from office in August 2021, after a series of court orders were issued against him.

Secondus’ predicament started after mass defection rocked the party.

Three governors — David Umahi of Ebonyi, Ben Ayade of Cross River and Bello Matawelle of Zamfara — left the party within a space of seven months.

Two months later, the situation got worse when seven of the party’s deputy national officials quit in protest at what they called “poor leadership”.

Will Ayu’s tenure end like his predecessor’s?

While speaking on Thursday, Wike, who is at the centre of the party’s crisis, described Ayu as an “ingrate” who must vacate office if the PDP must win the 2023 presidential election.

Wike, who is one of the major financiers of the party, had recently boasted of removing Secondus as PDP chairman.