Ayu On Two-Week Leave, Not Removed — PDP
The main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has discountenanced the rumoured suspension of the party’s National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu over allegations of misappropriation.
The report, which gained traction particularly on social media yesterday, said the Deputy National Chairman (North), Amb. Umar Damagun has been appointed in his place in an acting capacity.
But the party, in a statement signed by Simon Imobo-Tswam, the Special Assistant (SA) to the National Chairman on Communication and Strategy, said Dr Ayu merely proceeded on a well-deserved two-week leave on 21st June 2022., and that he would be back next week to resume duties, specifically on 6th July 2022.
The party further said that as a stickler for due process, Dr Ayu formally handed over to the Deputy National Chairman (North), Amb. Umar Damagun, and that the Deputy National Chairman has held forth admirably since that day.
“It was in that acting capacity that he (Damagun) today (29 June 2022) presided over the inauguration of the Osun State Gubernatorial Campaign Council, headed by the Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, H.E. Douye Diri.
“If not that the authors of the mischievous and baseless Facebook posts were out to serve nefarious interests, they would have heard when the acting national chairman, Amb. Damagun, said during the ceremony today: “On behalf of my able National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, I hereby inaugurate you.”
The party urged the general public to ignore what it described as “mischievous social media publications as they are purely the work of mischief-makers and idle minds”.
