PDP: Ayu Debunks Suspension Rumor

Iyorchia Ayu, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, has stated that only the National Executive Committee (NEC) has the power to suspend him, as the PDP constitution prohibits any lower committee from taking disciplinary action against any member of the NEC. Ayu said that the announcement of his suspension by the Benue State chapter of the party was a futile exercise based on ignorance and desperation. PDP: Ayu Debunks Suspension Rumor.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Simon Imobo-Tswam, Ayu clarified that Article 57(7) of the PDP constitution expressly prohibits any lower committee of the party from taking disciplinary action against any member of the party’s National Executive Committee. He explained that the suspension letter was written beforehand by an illiterate, and that signatures were forged or obtained under duress.

Ayu advised the public to disregard the suspension rumours and stated that those behind the plot were investing in expensive illusions. He added that some members of the executive committee were being guided by political gamblers to cause mischief and nothing more. PDP: Ayu Debunks Suspension Rumor.

The purported suspension letter imposed on the 24th of March was fraudulent as the signatures of the ward executives were forged or obtained under duress. The chairman, his deputy, and legal adviser of the Benue chapter did not sign the letter, according to Ayu.

Several leaders of the PDP, including former governors of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, Katsina State, Shehu Shema, Enugu State, Chimaroki Nnamani, and former Senate President, Anyim Pius, among others, have been suspended or expelled from the party over alleged anti-party activities by the party. PDP: Ayu Debunks Suspension Rumor.

Ayu’s statement made it clear that the Benue State chapter of the PDP had no power to suspend him and that only the NEC has the power to do so.