The Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday announced the suspension of former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose; former president of the Senate, Pius Anyim; Prof Dennis Ityavyar and Aslam Aliyu.

The party said the suspension took effect on Thursday, adding that the decision was reached after an extensive review of the affairs of the party, pursuant to the provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017).

The PDP also referred the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, to the National Disciplinary Committee over his reported involvement in anti-party activities.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba.

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“The PDP urges all leaders, critical stakeholders and teeming members of our party across the country to remain united and focused at this critical time,” the statement added.

Reacting, Fayose, through his media aide, Lere Olayinka, described the suspension by the Senator Iyorchia Ayu-led National Working Committee as “the last kick of a dead horse.”

In a statement titled, “My suspension is Ayu’s last kick of a dead horse – Fayose,” the former governor said, “Ayu and his cohorts are only entertaining themselves with the purported suspension as their latest comedy skit.”

Fayose said he and others who stood by the party when Ayu and his cohorts left it to die would rescue the PDP and give life back in due course, adding, “The purported suspension will have no leg to stand.”

Fayose had, earlier this month, in an interview with Arise TV, attacked his party and Ayu, following the defeat of the  PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the February 25 presidential election.

Then, he said, “This Ayu was the one who led Atiku to the gutters. They took him to the gutters. You see when a man cannot come out. At 80, what does he want to do after that?”

Reacting to a video showing members of a Civil Society Organisation who protested against the outcome of the election in Abuja, Fayose said, “Let me first fault the people I saw here today, that are calling themselves civil society. No, they are PDP members,” he said partly.

Also reacting, Ortom said the PDP  National Working Commitee  against him was acting in contempt of a subsisting Court Order by referring him to the disciplinary commitee of the party for alleged anti-party activities.

Governor Ortom also said that it was contemptous of the party’s leadership to disregard the Court Order which barred the party or any organ of the party from issuing any disciplinary measure against him.

This was contained in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, on Thursday.

“I think the national leadership of our great party is losing its sense of direction. Instead of the leadership to sit  back and think of ways of how to rebuild the party from the ruins of the defeat from the just concluded elections, they are going about chasing imaginary shadows.

“In any case, the first person the party should refer to the disciplinary committee should be the national chairman of the party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu. The national chairman lost his polling unit, lost his ward, local government, and even the state,” Ikyur said.

[Punch]