BREAKING: Court orders Ayu to stop parading self as PDP chairman

Benue State High Court has restrained Dr. Iyorchia Ayu from parading himself as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The presiding judge, Justice W.I. Kpochi, gave the interim order on Monday in the suit No. MHC/85/2023 filed at the court by Terhide Utaan with Ayu and the PDP as defendants.

This is even as the Chairman was said to have been suspended by his Ward Executives which was reported widely in the media on Sunday March 26, 2023.

Reacting to the purported suspension, the executives on Monday denied taking such step which they said, the letter of suspension did not emanate from them.

“Following the purported suspension of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Chairman Dr Iyorchia Ayu from the party, the executive committee members of the Party in Igyorov Ward of Benue State have distanced ourselves from the letter of suspension”, saying it didn’t emanate from them.

In a letter addressed to PDP Chairman in Gboko Local Government Area of the state, the committee members said they did not endorse Ayu’s suspension and have no part in it,. noting that it was a pure case of forgery.

According to them, the suspension was made without due process and proper consultation with all relevant stakeholders, adding that their signatures were forged to issue the “mischievous letter” announcing Ayu’s suspension.

“The executive committee have never discussed in any of our meetings prior to election or post 2023 General Election about the conduct of the National Chairman,” they said in the letter signed by the party’s Deputy Chairman in the ward and 15 others.

“The Executive Committee Members have stated clearly that they have no knowledge about the letter and have not authorized anybody whatsoever to generate such mischievous letter on behalf of the Executive Committee.

“The purported signatures on the letter are forged and no member of PDP Executive Committee of Igyorov Council Ward have signed that letter nor caused to be signed on his or her behalf. The names of the Executive Committee Members are wrongly written and spelled which show the desperation of the mischief makers. The content of the purported letter itself is contradictory on the holding of the presidential and National Assembly Elections on the March 25, 2023 while the letter itself is dated 24th March, 2023.

“The letter was written before the purported Commission of the offence which shows clearly that it is the hand work of the mischief makers.”

The party executives further passed a vote of confidence on Ayu while also declaring “full support for his pragmatic leadership style (as the National Chairman of the Party) by taking our party to higher heights.”

Earlier, Ayu had declared that based on provisions in Article 57(7) of the PDP constitution, party executives at the state or ward levels lack the powers to suspend him or take any disciplinary measure against any member of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
adjourned until April 17 for further hearing.