Despite crisis, Ayu says PDP will win 25 governorship seats

…Claims party is in excellent mood

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

Despite the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, its National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu has declared that the party is determined to win nothing less than twenty-five governorship seats in the next year’s general elections.

Ayu expressly said that the mood in the party is ‘excellent’.

The PDP National Chairman and erstwhile Senate President spoke yesterday during a consultative meeting between members of the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, and its governorship candidates across the country.

The PDP is also known to be battling with intra party crisis in some of its state chapters among which are Delta, Ebonyi and Ogun states.

But Ayu maintained that PDP is determined to return about 25 states’  governors or more “as we used to have”.

His words, “So we are happy that the members of the party are very determined that we don’t just win at the national level, State Houses of Assembly, National Assembly and state governorship, we want to return about 25 state governors or more as we used to have. 

“So the mood in the party is excellent”, he said.

Ayu explained that the governorship candidates came to the headquarters of the party yesterday to express their concerns in their various states as well as briefed the national leadership on the efforts they are making in their various states to win the election.

His words, “As you know, the elections. will be won in the states, not just at the national level. I am very happy with the progress that are made so far in various states and some of the little issues that we have clarified and it was an extremely useful meeting”.

The PDP governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Mr Isa Mohammed Ashiru, while answering questions from journalists at the venue of the consultative meeting, however denied any knowledge of crisis within the main opposition party in the country.

Ashiru, who doubles as the Chairman of PDP Governorship Candidates’ Forum, said, “We are here on a consultative meeting with our leaders on the way forward and we have extended discussions and views regarding the 2023 elections and we are home and dry. 

“We don’t have crisis in PDP. I don’t know where you got this information”, he said.

On his part, the Governor of Bauchi State and PDP gubernatorial candidate for the 2023 general elections, Mr Bala Mohammed explained that the coming together of the governorship candidates was aimed as ensuring the party’s unity.

According to him, “The candidates are coming together and uniting the party to discuss, even issues of reconciliation. So. It is a very democratic party”, he said.