The Lagos State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has distanced itself from calls for the removal of the National Chairman of the Party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu.
Naija News understands that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State had at a meeting with the southwest stakeholders in Ibadan where the party’s presidential flag-bearer, Atiku Abubakar was present, demanded that Ayu must vacate his position ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Makinde was quoted to have said that southwest leaders have resolved that someone from the South occupy the PDP chairmanship seat to prove their inclusion in the party’s processes.
Other PDP chieftains from the South including Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and former Deputy National Chairman of the Party, Olabode George, who is generally seen as the leader of the PDP in Lagos, have called for Ayu’s removal, stressing that the North can not dominate the party. 
But in a statement on Friday the Lagos State PDP, Publicity Secretary, Hon. Hakeem Amode stated that it was not part of such calls.
He said: “We believe that the Peoples Democratic Party – PDP had survived as the only political party since the inception of the recent democratic dispensation due to its adherence to the constitution of the party, rules of law and regulations guiding the administration of the party.
“As much as we extolled His Excellency Engr. Seyi Makinde as our leader in the southwest but there is no prior meeting where such agreement was reached with the leadership of the party in Lagos State where such position was agreed.”
The party in Lagos state commended the national leadership of the PDP in their efforts to rescue the country from its current misery brought upon the people by the current government of APC.
It also appealed to the party’s leadership in the Southwest region to work together to return the PDP to its glorious days in the administration of the southwest region of the country.
“Our focus should be directed mainly to encouraging our teeming members to rally round our candidates vying for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, and Governorship positions and ensure that they win elections.
“Achieving this feat in Ogun, Lagos, Ekiti, Ondo, and Oyo State as demonstrated in Osun State will in no doubt reiterate the importance of southwest in the affairs of our party and further solidify our position for any position we may take in the affairs of the national administration of our great party in due time,” it said.
The Lagos PDP added that “considering our position as the state in the heart of the coming election, hosting the APC Presidential Candidate and a preferred opposition party to win the election, Lagos State PDP leadership cannot afford a disunited regional leadership nor does a divided national leadership help our noble cause of liberating the people of our state.”
The Lagos PDP urged Makinde, Wike, Olabode George, and other individuals who view the removal of the National Chairman as a way to resolve the lingering internal crisis rocking the party to have a rethink, respect for the constitution of the party, and see the need to form a solidly viable alliance that can guarantee the party victory in the next general elections.
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