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PDP Suspends National Chairman, Ayu at Ward Level
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday announced the suspension of its National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, for alleged anti party activities.
Ayu was suspended by the PDP Ward Executives of his Igyorov Ward in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State.
The PDP Ward Secretary, Vangeryina Dooyum, on behalf of Kashi Philip, who is the Ward chairman, told journalists in Makurdi, that the national chairman’s suspension followed his alleged anti party activities.
The secretary in a statement signed by 12 out of the 17 member Ward Executives, noted that the decision to suspend the National Chairman was reached after the leadership reviewed his conduct at the end of the just concluded general elections.
The secretary, who was flanked at the press conference by the ward chairman and other members of executive, read from the statement which announced Ayu’s suspension.
“We observed with utmost dismay that, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu who is the National Chairman of the PDP worked against the success of the party in Igyorov Council Ward.
“It is on record that, he has also failed to pay his Annual Subscription Fees as provided under Section 8 (9) of the constitution of the PDP 2017 (As Amended).
“Further investigation also revealed that, he did not vote during the Governorship and State Assembly Elections held on March 18, 2023.
“It was also discovered that, most of his closest allies worked for the opposition party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) and hence, the abysmal performance of the PDP in Igyorov Ward.
“In view of the foregoing, we hereby pass a Vote of No Confidence on Dr. Iyorchia Ayu and suspend him as a member of our party with immediate effect. The suspension takes effect from March 24, 2023.”
Recall that the PDP at the state level during the weekend passed a vote of confidence on Governor Samuel Ortom, whom the national chairman’s led executive at the apex level referred to its disciplinary committee.
The PDP in Benue State passed a vote of confidence on Ortom for what they described as his steadfast loyalty and selfless, sacrificial leadership to the party.
State Publicity Secretary of PDP, Bemgba Iortyom, in a statement signed on behalf of the party’s state working committee in Makurdi at the weekend called on its national body to rescind decision referring the governor to its disciplinary body.
“We have noted with grave concern the action taken yesterday by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party in referring Governor Samuel Ortom to its Disciplinary Committee to answer to charges of anti party activities preferred against him.
“Benue PDP finds it difficult to understand the rationale by which anti party activities are determined at the National Secretariat by the NWC such as sees one out of the G-5 Governors singled out for punitive action on ground of that offence, and what the procedure is for meting out punitive measures against such anti party activities where some persons including Professor Dennis Ityavyar having been suspended without facing any disciplinary Committee.
“The party feels strongly that in fulfilling its duty as a state chapter it must remind the NWC of the implications of its current action against Governor Ortom and others.
“It is, therefore, a motion of the Benue PDP SWC that a Vote-of-Confidence be passed on Governor Samuel Ortom for his steadfast loyalty and selfless, sacrificial leadership to our great party, PDP.
“We equally call on the NWC to explore exhaustively options towards fostering reconciliation, unity, re-branding and repositioning of the party to recover its lost glory,” the statement reads partly.
The party further argued that the action runs in contempt of a subsisting court injunction restraining PDP at all levels from taking any punitive action against the Benue State Governor pending the determination of a substantive suit which is lying before a court of competent jurisdiction on the matter.
Daily Trust
US President, Donald Trump, has ordered the Pentagon – headquarters of the United States Department of Defense – to prioritize the protection of Christians targeted by ISIS terrorists in Nigeria.
U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, disclosed this on Wednesday while stressing that the mission has quietly led to the killing of ISIS’ second-in-command in Nigeria.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting chaired by President Trump at the White House, Hegseth said:
“To give you a sense of how committed this president is (referring to President Trump), maybe, a year ago, he heard the call of Nigerian Christians who are being targeted and killed by ISIS in Nigeria.
“He said, Pete, I want the war department to focus on ensuring that we do whatever we can to protect those Christians”.
He further said: “Partnerships like that can take some time behind the scenes, but he never wavered on it. We got the assets there over the last month. There has not been much coverage of this”.
He added that U.S. intelligence gathered during the operation helped lead to the deaths of “hundreds” of ISIS fighters tied to attacks on Christians and threats against the U.S. homeland.
“We killed ISIS’ number two in Nigeria, who is most responsible for killing Christians and trying to target U.S. homeland.
“There’s a lot of things we do that the media pays attention to, and a lot of things that the president empowers the Department to do on behalf of the American people, that he deserves great credit for,” Hegseth concluded.
Controversial social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse aka VeryDarkMan (VDM), has reacted strongly to allegations surrounding the circulation of an alleged audio involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
VDM spoke in a lengthy video posted on social media after comments credited to presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, accused him of disseminating a fake audio related to the President.
In the video, VDM claimed he began receiving several calls warning him not to return to Nigeria following the controversy surrounding the audio clip.
According to him, some associates advised him to remain abroad over fears that he could be arrested upon his return to the country.
Reacting to the development, VDM denied any wrongdoing and insisted that he had the constitutional right to criticise the government and comment on national issues.
He accused government officials of paying more attention to critics on social media instead of addressing pressing security challenges confronting the country.
The activist also criticised the Federal government over insecurity, kidnappings and economic hardship, arguing that Nigerians were facing difficult living conditions across the country.
VDM further alleged that some individuals were attempting to create a narrative to justify possible actions against him because of his criticism of the administration.
He maintained that he would continue speaking on issues affecting Nigerians, particularly insecurity and governance.
During the emotional video, the social commentator repeatedly questioned why government officials were allegedly more vocal about online controversies than incidents of bandit attacks and kidnappings.
He also urged Nigerians to participate actively in the 2027 general elections, insisting that citizens must make decisions based on the performance of political leaders.
The controversy followed comments attributed to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, who reportedly stated that VDM should “face the weight of the law” over the alleged circulation of fake audio involving the President.
As of the time of filing this report, there was no official confirmation from security agencies regarding any planned action against the activist.
By Eric Elezuo
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been declared winner of the presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The declaration was made at the Trascorp Hilton Hotel, where the final collation of results was made.
The former Vice President polled a total of 1, 846, 370 votes to defeat his closest rival, former Governor of Rivers State, Hon Rotimi Amaechi, who scored just over 500 thousand votes. Alhaji Muhammed Hayatu-Deen came third.
