Nigeria will not break up, says PDP chairman, Ayu

• ‘Opposition party left nation on life support’
• APC plans talk shop for chairmanship aspirants ahead of convention

National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu, has said Nigeria will not break up as postulated by some people.

Ayu stated this, yesterday, at a reception held in his honour in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

He said his emergence as national chairman was a clear indication that Nigeria is still together and will not disintegrate.

He assured the party’s aspirants that they would be treated fairly, stressing that the PDP, under his leadership, is determined to stop the drift to other political parties and would instead harvest defectors from other political platforms.

ALSO, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, said investing in Ayu’s chairmanship will not deplete the party’s numbers at state or federal legislatures, even as he urged him to use his wealth of experience to bring back PDP members that crossed to other parties. Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, similarly, expressed confidence in the ability of Ayu to boost the fortunes of the party.

MEANWHILE, one of the major contenders for the National Chairmanship of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Malam Saliu Mustapha, has described the inaugural speech of Ayu as continuation of a barefaced attempt by the party to hoodwink Nigerians to return it to power in 2023.

In a statement he personally signed, Mustapha said the opposition party was largely responsible for the mess President Muhammadu Buhari and APC had been cleaning in the last six years.

He wondered why PDP could not identify tangible projects it put in place in its 16 years in power.

IN another development, in a bid to sensitise aspirants seeking the position of national chairman on party management, the governing council of APC has scheduled a forum for conversation among the 11 bigwigs that have indicted interest.

The Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party, led by Governor Mai Mala Buni, has tentatively fixed the national convention for February 5, 2022.

According to a statement by the party’s media and publicity council, Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, is expected to deliver a keynote speech during the event.