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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
As the crisis in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) deepens, a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abia State, and member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, Dr Eme Okoro, and a two-time former Commissioner in the state, Chief James Okpara, have insisted that both Umar Damagum and former Senate President Senator Adolphus Wabara remain the authentic National Chairman and BoT Chairman of the party, respectively.
Both PDP chieftains, who spoke separately in Umuahia, on the heels of last week’s emergence of Senator Mao Ohuabunwa and Abdulrahman Mohammed as PDP’s factional BoT Chairman and Acting National Chairman, respectively, said the action was a joke taken too far.
Dr Okoro expressed surprise that Senator Ohuabunwa, whom he said he has been close with over the years, could take such a decision without consultation.
“My friend, Senator Mao, didn’t even tell me that he belongs to a faction that is creating another factional BoT. I’m amazed that it happened. He knows that I’m a very strong member and firm supporter of the Follow Better Organisation, which he founded. He should have consulted with people before taking that action. He knows I’m a member of the BoT of the party and should have given me that opportunity to dialogue with him.”
Dr Okoro advised those who disagree with the majority opinion of the party to rather look for alternative platforms instead of staying back to destroy the party that made them.
“I believe that if we want to maintain democratic principles, when there is a crisis within, it must be amicably resolved.
“If it cannot be resolved, and one cannot continue with the party, the honourable thing to do is to quit the party and allow the majority view to prevail, where the majority view respects the number of the people who own the party.”
Dr Okoro said he was disappointed at the level of impunity, disregard for the party’s constitution and due process by some members of the party.
He queried the legality of holding the purported inauguration of a new BoT of PDP in a member’s private residence.
“When I attended our last BoT meeting a few days ago in Abuja, it was not held in somebody’s house. It was held on an official platform and in an official area.
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“I don’t belong to the BoT that my friend Follow Better (Ohuabunwa) is chairing. Senator Adolphus Wabara is our BoT Chairman.
“I recognise him because we have not been dissolved by the appropriate body. It will be dissolved when we go to a convention, and we have the majority opinion about dissolving or not dissolving.”
The former SSG alleged that external forces with some internal collaborators were working to weaken and ultimately destroy PDP.
Speaking on the way forward, Dr Okoro recommended strong disciplinary action against all those instigating the crisis in the party.
On his own, Okpara took a swipe at those claiming to have suspended or removed Wabara and Damagum, describing them as “content creators engaging in political comedy.”
“Those who claimed to have suspended or removed the BoT Chairman and the National Chairman of our great party are nothing but content creators.”
He equally slammed those opposing the forthcoming National Convention of the PDP, describing their actions as unpatriotic, illegal, and detrimental to the survival of the party.
The former commissioner under Governors Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu said, “Any individual or group working to frustrate the National Convention is clearly acting against the collective interest of the PDP and its founding ideals.”
Okpara said any attempt to truncate the process of internal democracy in PDP amounts to sabotaging the will of the party’s loyal members nationwide and must be resisted.
