2023: PDP now the preferred party in the South-West – Sen. Ayu

Obiora Ifoh, Abuja

National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyorchia Ayu on Thursday disclosed that the party has become the preferred party and will take all the governorship seats in the South West including Lagos.

In his opening remarks at an interactive meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) and former National Publicity Secretaries, State and Zonal Publicity Secretaries and other key stakeholders at the party’s headquarters in Abuja, Sen. Ayu said that it is obvious that the party has become the preferred party for 2023.

Going down memory lane, Ayu recounted that the just concluded Local government elections in the Federal Capital Territory as well as those of Ekiti and Osun states gave PDP an edge over other parties ahead of the 2023 election.

According to him, “it is clear that the preferred party the Nigerian people want to take over power next year is still the PDP. This is not based on lies, it is based on realities. It’s based on the reality of these two states elections Ekiti and Osun.

“Never mind we had hiccups in Ekiti for reasons, which many Nigerian and party members know. We still keyed in on a very important state of Osun.

“This means we now control the heartland of the Southwest. We control both Osun and Oyo, and if you control the heartland of the Southwest, you are likely to win in the rest of the Southwest in Ondo, in Ogun and of course the big prize in Lagos.

“So we need to work harder to tell Nigerians the truth. We need to convey to Nigerians the failure of the APC and to go ahead and tell them what we will do for them as realistically as possible.”

According to the party chairman, “We do not want to claim victories that will have not earned. And I think that it is important that we maintain this relationship with the Nigerian people. They should trust us. The English man says actions speak louder than words.

“And the Nigerian people as long as we continue to do the right things they will believe us and they will definitely give us their mandate.

“We have already demonstrated this in the last six to eight months since we took over as the NWC of the party.

“We try to convince Nigeria people of the disgusting realities that they find themselves in, thanks to the APC and all the lies they told against the PDP.”

Ayu who has been asked to resign by the Southern caucus of the party led by Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike claimed that  the Osun election victory showed clearly that PDP is on its way to victory.

“We are definitely going to win the next election, we’ll increase the number of governors, we’ll control the National Assembly, House of Representatives, most state houses of assembly and of course the big price. We shall return to the villa.”

Also speaking, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, said that Osun election has dymistified the All Progressives Congress (APC), adding that the lying of the ruling party is coming into the open.

“Most recently in Osun State, the message of confronting the liar with the facts are coming and becoming more and more grounded in the minds of Nigerians. And PDP is again now being looked upon as the only hope of the Nigerian people.

“So this is the trajectory, and we’ll continue on that trajectory as we proceed on this mission to ensure that the message we set out to our people and to the whole world is such that is consistent with who we are, the party of the people and reflected in our name as Peoples Democratic party,” he said.

Meanwhile, the meeting of National Publicity Secretaries in a communique after its meeting at the party headquarters in Abuja reinstated confidence on the leadership of Sen. Ayu.

Addressing journalists at the end of the meeting, Ologunagba reported that the meeting “Restates confidence in the National Chairman, Sen. Dr. Iyorchia Ayu and the National Working Committee (NWC) in running the affairs of the Party.

“We believe that only the PDP under the leadership of H.E Atiku Abubakar has the capacity to protect and secure the lives and properties of Nigerians as well as rebuild the economy of the nation in such a manner as to put food on the table.

“We commit to remain loyal and integral in the mission of the PDP to make all sacrifices necessary to achieve success in Rescuing, Redirecting and Rebuilding our nation from the misrule of the APC”.