A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Benue State, Terhile Utaan, said his lawsuit suit leading to the suspension of the party’s ex-National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, was a courageous step he took to save the party in 2023.
Utaan, who is seeking to become the next PDP National Chairman, said seeing the confusion in the party at the time, something needed to be done to save the party, hence, the lawsuit.
He spoke to journalists in Markurdi on Wednesday, after a consultation with PDP leaders of Tiv extraction, under the auspices of G.14.
Ayu was removed from his position as the PDP National Chairman in 2023 based on the court order obtained by Utaan.The opposition party had been engulfed in internal crisis shortly after its presidential primary in 2023 that produced Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as its candidate for the 2023 presidential poll.
The G5 governors, led by then Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, had demanded that Ayu should step down from his position as the PDP National Chairman, arguing that the party could not have both its National Chairman and presidential candidate from the North.
While Ayu rejected the call, his Ijorov council ward suspended him from the party and thereafter, Utaan filed a suit, asking the court to uphold the suspension, marking Ayu’s exit.
With Ayu out, Iliya Damagum stepped in as acting PDP National Chairman and there are currently loud calls for Damagum to step down so the party can pick another substantive National Chairman from the North Central, particularly Benue State, where Ayu is from.Utaan is one of the persons positioning to step in as the next PDP leader. Another aspirant is a former Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam.
Speaking with journalists on Wednesday after meeting with PDP leaders from the Tiv ethnic group, Utaan said, “I did not remove Dr Iyorchia Ayu. You all know there was a lot of confusion when he was suspended by his Ijorov council ward. He insisted he was not removed but the ward chairman maintained that he was removed.
“It was in the light of that confusion that I went to court to seek interpretation of what the constitution of the PDP says. So, what I did was courageous and it was an intervention to save the soul of the party. My going to court was a sacrifice to salvage PDP.”
Utaan said he seeks to become the next PDP National Chairman in order to unite and strengthen the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said the opposition party needed to be very strong to be able to dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress from power in 2027.
“I am coming out to provide intervention in the party and if I emerge (as national chairman) my immediate task is to unify the party because the party has lost its soul.
“We must return power to the people and we can only do that if we unify the party and bring our leaders back to the table,” he said.
Leader of the G.14, Laha Dzever, said that Utaan had come to consult the party leadership in the Tiv 14 local government areas of the state about his aspiration.
Dzever said as leaders and elders, they had informed him of the great task ahead of him if he becomes the national chairman of the party, part of which is to rebuild the party for victory in the next general elections.
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