The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has submitted, to the leadership of the party, the report of its reconciliation effort on the rift between Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and the National Chairman of the party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, with the board insisting that the party boss should vacate the seat after the 2023 elections.

The meeting on Friday at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja presided over by the embattled party boss, also asked all stakeholders to honour their commitments to the party and refrain from further inflammatory statements.

The BoT called on the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum to summon its meeting as part of efforts to reach common ground on the lingering party crisis.

These were contained in the communique issued at the end of the meeting and read by the interim BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara.

It stated: “After the special Board of Trustee meeting, the following resolutions were reached – to call on all Party leaders and persons close to them, to desist from making further inflammatory remarks or granting press interviews.

“To call on the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum to convene a meeting of the PDP Governors Forum without further delay.

“To call on all the leaders of the party to match words with action and where commitments are made to unconditionally fulfil same.

“To urge the National Chairman as an eminent leader to give a firm assurance that he would resign his position after the 2023 elections. In the same vein, the BoT Chairman has been authorized to offer apologies on behalf of all members who feel maligned or aggrieved by the public statements made by its members across the country that have sharpened the current division in the party.

“To call on the presidential candidate to review its appointments of members of the campaign council and other advisory appointments to make it all-inclusive.

“The BoT will refer some of these recommendations for noting and appropriate action to NEC of our party in due course.”

The decisions came as Ayu denied allegations by Governor Wike that he had obtained N1 billion and N100 million from a presidential aspirant and a governor, respectively.

Speaking after the BoT meeting on the matter, the party chairman said he had to address the allegations because they had persisted.

While noting that he did not collect N1 billion from anyone, but only approached a bank for a loan upon the suggestion of a presidential aspirant, he explained, “This is a meeting of the BoT which I am only a member, as allegations persist, it is an opportunity to clear the air. I decided not to respond and not to encourage altercations at the party.

“However, I want to make it clear that at no time did I as the National Chairman of the party collect any N1bn from anybody. When we came in and the party has funding difficulties, the presidential candidate suggested that we should take a loan from the bank and the owner of that bank is a member of the party. He has even left the party.

“The party never took any loan from anybody. Any money advanced to the party was declared before the NWC and handed over to the National Treasurer. All our accounts are up to date and we promised to publish the accounts at the end of the year.”

On the fresh allegation of N100 million raised by Wike on Friday in a live television chat, Ayu stated: “On today’s allegations, I fully briefed the BoT that one of our governors made a contribution of 100 million for the revival of the PDI (Peoples Democratic Institute) which was housed in a portacabin and I explained to them that we hired an appropriate place in Asokoro, we have furnished it, renovated it.

“Three days we went there, inspected it and the NWC decided that before commissioning we should invite the governor in question to come and inspect what we have done with his contribution. I am happy that the National Secretary of the party has since written a letter to that governor. I or the NWC has never taken any money to carry out that renovation in fact we have not even exhausted that N100 million by one of the governors.

“The consistent attack on my person since the end of the convention on the 31st of May I have refrained from reacting as the father of the party. I felt I should encourage reconciliation. But where it touches on my personal integrity or even my family members are brought into play I appealed to such people to desist from trying to malign my character or bringing my family into party affairs.”

Speaking earlier at the opening of the BoT meeting, Ayu acknowledged that even though the leadership has been working behind the scene, the crisis is yet to be resolved.

He said the National Working Committee (NWC) has met behind closed doors with the aggrieved members but still thought it should involve the BoT to add its voice in the effort to resolve the matter, hoping that the report will help to bring the crisis to rest.

“We have one singular goal in this party and that goal is to win the forthcoming elections or the elections, particularly the presidential election. The NWC of which I am the chairman is very desirous of having a united party.

“Since we came in, we have worked towards having a very united and effective party that can fight and win the forthcoming elections. In spite of the perceived crisis in the party, we have worked hard behind the scenes to bring about peace and reconciliation in the party.

“Many of us in the NWC has reached out to members of the party who are not happy and talked to them. We had a series of meetings with them and we also felt that since the matter has not been completely resolved, the BoT as the conscience of the party, as advisors, made up of very responsible members of the party, should also add their voice to what is going on in the party.

“It is on that note that NWC decided to invite the chairman of the BoT to put together the committee and seek ways of bringing this reconciliation to the party.
I’m happy that you have done just that.”

“So today, they have completed the assignments and are presenting them to the BoT as a whole. We hope this will help to unite the party or move the party towards a strong position that they will be able to fight and win the elections. We have only one desire and that desire is that the party returns to power. And since we came in about 10 months ago, that’s all we have in doing,” the PDP national chairman added.

The interim chairman of the BoT, Wabara, remarked that there is a vacancy in Aso Villa which he said only the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, should occupy.

He said the position is for the party to win or lose depending on if it is able to go into the elections united. Wabara pointed out that there is a need for giving and taking as some egos have been hurt.

He said as the conscience of the party, the BoT must take bold and courageous decisions provided it can take the PDP to the presidential villa.

“We have heard all kinds of problems on national television and all kinds of utterances. You will recall that the national chairman led the National Working Committee paid me a condolence visit, I think, on the 9th of September, a few days after I was appointed, and in his wisdom, advised that the Board of Trustees should go into the matter expeditiously and he guided me, that we should have members of the committee chosen from the zones, that is the six geopolitical zones.

“I’ve had the liberty with your support of choosing six members of this special reconciliation committee. So, we hit the ground running by carrying out the assignment with an open mind, guided by the fact that the goal of every one of us should be 2023 because there is a vacancy in the Presidential Villa and it should, as matter of fact, be occupied by no other party but PDP and no other person but our own Atiku Abubakar.

“This election is for PDP to win and is also for us to lose if we are not united. So, the aim of this special committee primarily was to find a way of bringing everybody under this big umbrella. No vote is too small. As a matter of fact, all votes are equal. But then, when you start counting, that is what brings you victory.

“We operated on the principle of giving and taking sacrifice. We know that a lot of egos has been hurt on both sides but we should do all in our power to ensure that we sheath our swords and then aim at the main thing. The report is what we are presenting to you today for your consideration.”

While noting that the BoT had kept a sealed lip over the crisis not to divulge resolutions, the BoT chairman added: “So, today I pray that we’ll come up with a position and you know, our position is advisory but we must be deep in all aspects, being the conscience of the party.

“If we are indeed the conscience of the party, we should be seen to be free and fair, bold, courageous with whatever decisions we are going to take provided, it will ultimately take us to the villa. If we don’t, if we don’t get to the villa, we will be disappointed as a party and we will also be disappointing Nigeria and Nigerians.

“The happiness is that this umbrella is covering all of us even the aggrieved ones, we are all under the same umbrella. Well, it’s just a question of a little bit of sacrifice and understanding.”

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