Ex-Senate President Anyim speaks on his suspension from PDP

A former Senate President, Pius Anyim, has reacted to his suspension from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

WITHIN NIGERIA reported that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, Thursday, suspended Mr Anyim alongside former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, and two others from the party.

The others also suspended were Dennis Ityavya from Benue State and Aslam Aliyu from Zamfara State.

Like other members who were also suspended, the PDP did not state Anyim’s offences. But sources in the party had said the former Secretary to the Government of Federation and others were suspended for alleged anti-party activities.

The PDP had also asked Governor Samuel Ortom to appear before the party’s disciplinary committee over similar allegation.

Anyim, a former presidential aspirant on the PDP, backed the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, in the 18 March election against the PDP candidate, Ifeanyi Odii.

Mr Nwifuru won the election to become the governor-elect in the state.

But reacting in a statement on Friday, Anyim, said his suspension by the NWC of the PDP was “to say the least, disappointing.”

He stressed that the party ought to have concerned itself with how to undertake a “thorough self-examination on why they performed so poorly in the 2023 elections rather than seek to further divide the party by shifting blames.

“It smacks of arrogance for the NWC to put up a bold face instead of showing remorse and being sober for leading the party to such a colossal loss in the 2023 elections, thereby dashing hopes and expectations of the party members and indeed Nigerians,” he stated.

“It is clear that arising from the leadership style of the NWC, many members, intentionally and proudly, worked against the party including members of the NWC. Therefore, it is a display of innate cowardice for NWC to choose soft targets to suspend and fear those that daily demonize them,” Mr Anyim added.

The former senate president said it is difficult to explain why NWC was “in a hurry to suspend leaders of the party without recourse for fair hearing, without which their action is null and void.”

Anyim defended his support for the Ebonyi State APC governorship candidate, Mr Nwifuru, explaining that his decision was because of “existing formular” in the state.

He accused the PDP of “imposing” its governorship candidate in the state from outside the zone favoured by the existing zoning formular to produce a governor in the state.

“Every effort to let the NWC see reason fell on deaf ears. On the day the party’s presidential rally was held in Ebonyi State, I told Dr. (Iyorchia) Ayu (the PDP national chairman) that I was boycotting the rally because I cannot support the candidate they imposed on Ebonyi State.

“Dr. Ayu did nothing. He did not care even as I did not attend the Ebonyi rally. The NWC may wish to know that I am proud to have supported the APC gubernatorial candidate in Ebonyi State to win the election because that conforms to the equitable formular in Ebonyi State,” he said.

Anyim said, given his explanation, he expects the NWC of the PDP to “reverse itself” in the interest of the party.