Pius Anyim, a former Senate President, responded to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) suspending him for suspected anti-party actions by calling the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) decision regrettable.
The PDP dismissed Anyim and other notable figures, including former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, Professor Dennis Ityavyar, and Aslam Aliyu, on Thursday in response to the party’s defeat in several states during the recently concluded gubernatorial election.
However, Anyim justified his backing of Franis Nwifuru, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for governor of Ebonyi State who ultimately defeated the PDP’s Ifeanyi Odii, in a statement on Friday.
Anyim said that the Iyorchia Ayu-led NWC forced a candidate from the zone of the outgoing governor, in violation of the state’s zoning mechanism, and that all attempts to get the NWC to see reason were met with resistance.
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He expressed his hope that the NWC will change its mind in the party’s best interests.
“It is difficult to explain why the NWC is in a hurry to suspend leaders of the party without recourse to fair hearing, without which their action is null and void,” he said.
“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.”
“On the day the party’s presidential rally was held in Ebonyi State, I told Dr. Ayu 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.”
