Terhile Utaan, a national chairmanship aspirant for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has defended his decision to take the party’s former national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to court, stating that his actions were intended to save the party from internal crisis. Utaan made this statement on Wednesday during a consultation tour in Makurdi with party officials and elders from the Tiv ethnic group, organized by the G14 group.
Utaan emphasized that his legal move was a necessary sacrifice to address the confusion and disarray within the party at the time. “I did not remove Dr. Iyorchia Ayu. You all know there was a lot of confusion when he was suspended by his Ijorov council ward. He claimed he was not removed, while the ward chairman insisted he was,” Utaan explained.
He continued, “It was in the light of this confusion that I went to court to seek interpretation of what the constitution of PDP says. My actions were courageous and intended as an intervention to save the soul of the party. Going to court was a sacrifice to salvage PDP.”
Laha Dzever, leader of the G14, confirmed that Utaan’s visit was part of his consultation efforts with party leadership across the Tiv-dominated 14 local government areas in the state. The visit aimed to discuss Utaan’s aspirations for the national chairmanship and his vision for the party’s future.
