Stakeholders upbraid NWC over unending crisis in Ebonyi PDP

From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki

The crisis rocking Ebonyi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP),is  far from over. The party went into crisis before the 2023 general elections which affected its chances at the elections proper.

PDP lost four of five National Assembly seats it was holding in the state during the general elections because of the crisis which became intractable. It also lost almost all the 24 House of Assembly seats in the state. PDP only managed to win Ezza North West State Constituency, Onicha West Constituency and Abakaliki North Constituency The party lost governorship election during the general election.

Before the crisis, PDP was controlling Abakaliki/Izzi federal constituency where one of its leaders, Sylvester Ogbaga who recently joined the ruling APC held sway in the House of Representatives for 16 years. PDP was also in control of Ebonyi North, South and Central senatorial zones, Ezza North/Ishielu federal constituency, Ebonyi/Ohaukwu federal constituency and Onicha, Ivo and Ohaozara federal constituency.

APC, LP and APGA snatched the senatorial and House of Representatives seats from PDP during the general election except Afikpo/Edda Federal Constituency where Hon. Iduma Igariwey won for the third time.

After the general elections, it was expected that leaders of the party will come together to salvage the party.

The PDP has been in serious crisis which affected its chances during the 2023 general election but what started happening within its fold recently was a massive defection of its leaders including Chief Obinna Ogba, the former state Chairman of the party and two term Senator who aspired for the governorship seat in 2023, Anayo Edwin Nwonu who was two term member of the House of Representatives. Others include Chief Livinus Makwe who represented Ohaozara, Onicha and Ivo federal constituency, Chief Lazarus Ogbee, a former member of House of Representatives among other bigwigs.

The party witnessed the highest exodus after the Supreme Court ruling which upheld the election of Governor Francis Nwifuru. Many bigwigs and members of the party defected to APC after the judgment leaving a very few in the PDP.

But observers are surprised that instead of the chieftains closing ranks to reposition the party for the tasks ahead, many are rather reportedly threatening to dump the party. They have accused the National Working Committee (NWC) of not carrying them along in the constitution of membership of caretaker committee to be piloting the affairs of the party.

In a statement by some of the PDP chieftains, including Senator Paulinus Igwe Nwagu, Deputy Governorship candidate of the party in the 2023 general election, Sen. Michael Amah Nnachi, Chief Onwe Solomon Onwe, former Acting National Secretary of the party, Chris Usulor, former House of Assembly member, Chief Augustine Nwazunku, Chief Abia Onyike, former Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Mark Onu, former Youth Leader of the party in the state, Moses Idika and over 60 others,  they threatened to quit the party if the NWC  reneged on the collectively agreed-upon list of new caretaker committee as submitted by the various local government chapters of the party in the state.

They opined that they have sacrificed personal and individual resources and comfort to stay true and loyal to the party in the face of organised intimidation, harassment and subterfuge plots and wondered why they should not be carried along in the leadership of the party

“We the undersigned members and stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ebonyi State chapter wish to alert the Board of Trustees (BOT), the National Executive Committee (NEC), the National Working Committee (NWC) and the general public of as follows:

“That it is on record that critical stakeholders of the PDP in Ebonyi State led by the 2023 Deputy Governorship  candidate of our great party, Senator Paulinus Igwe Nwagu, (who represented the governorship candidate, High Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii who was unavoidably absent due to flight disruptions occasioned by the nationwide strike of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)) on Tuesday, June 4th, 2024 at the NWC Hall of the Wadata Plaza National Headquarters of  the party,  met with the NWC of our great party with the Acting  National Chairman, the National Secretary, the National Organizing Secretary among other members of the NWC present.

“The above stated meeting was on the invitation of the National Working Committee.  That the NWC at the end of the highly successful meeting resolved that: the former Caretaker Committee in place in Ebonyi State stand officially dissolved.

“The NWC mandated the PDP stakeholders and members present to nominate a candidate each from the 13 local government areas of the state to serve in a new Caretaker committee to be immediately inaugurated.

“The Ebonyi State PDP members subsequently made nominations, while the NWC announced that it reserves the right to appoint the Chairman and Secretary from any part of the Southeast.

“It is, therefore, embarrassing and worrisome that the NWC made a volte face and reneged on their own decision by throwing away the list submitted by the critical stakeholders of the PDP and produced an entirely new list that features even Hon. Udeh Akaji, Hon. Francis Ibiam and Hon Dave Odeh who have since publicly resigned from the PDP and joined the All Progressives Congress, another party.

“The list also includes the name of Hon. Okoro Pascal Monday who took the party to court in suit no: FHC/CS/AI/95/2024 Between Hon Pascal Okoro and Ambassador Umar Illilya Damagun (Acting National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party) and Six Others which is still Pending at the Federal High Court, Abakaliki Division, it is also noteworthy that the four named individuals were not at the meeting convened by the NWC on June 4, 2024.

“From the above conduct of the PDP NWC, it is now crystal clear that they are either working as undertakers for the final burial of the PDP in Ebonyi State, or they are being misguided by arch-enemies of the PDP in Ebonyi State.

“We hereby state categorically that if the NWC reneges on the collectively agreed-upon list of new caretaker committee as submitted by the various local government chapters of the PDP in Ebonyi State, we may not have any other option than to resign from the PDP.

“We have sacrificed personal and individual resources and comfort to stay true and loyal to the PDP in Ebonyi State in the face of organised intimidation, harassment and subterfuge plots. It is, therefore, curious that the National leadership of our great party looks reluctant to help the party stay strong in Ebonyi State,” the party leaders stated.

One of the bigwigs, Christian Usulor, two weeks after the statement, gave the NWC of the party one week to correct the anomaly, failure which will make him to dump the party.

Usulor, a former governorship aspirant of the PDP and three-term ex-House of Assembly member expressed disappointment at the continued factionalisation of the party.

He alleged that the party stakeholders rather than come together to chart a new way forward for the PDP after the elections, have continued doing things the old way.

He claimed that the same practices and actions that caused the party’s defeat at the 2023 general election were still being carried out by stakeholders.

He further alleged that the newly constituted Caretaker Committee of the party has three known members of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC).

According to him, such high-handedness of the party’s leadership as displayed in the constitution of the committee against the recommendations of stakeholders has caused serious disaffection and loss of confidence in the party by members across the state.

“The decision to appoint known non-party members into the Caretaker Committee has affected party cohesion, eroded members confidence in the party and caused serious disaffection which is threatening to torpedo the efforts of right thinking members like myself who are committed to unifying the party and moving it forward in the right direction,” Usulor said.

He further accused the Caretaker Committee Chairman of being autocratic which, he said, is contrary to the norms and traditions of the party.

“The PDP, as the names implies, is a Democratic party where everyone is carried along in the running and operations of the party.

“But the present Caretaker Chairman in the state is anything but democratic as he has decided to jettison the advices and inputs of stakeholders and members of the party”

He lamented that as a result of the factionalisation of the party and the high-handedness of the Caretaker Committee Chairman, many members who have lost hope and interest in the prospects of the party to bounce back from the trouncing it received in the last election have started defecting to other parties.

He gave an example of one of those key stakeholders who left recently as a former member of the state House Assembly, Mrs Ngọzi Eziulo, who recently defected with thousands of her supporters.

He warned that many other stakeholders and members are still gearing up to officially defect if the factions in the party do not come together quickly to unite the party.

Usulor, son  of the late Senator Vincent Usulor, therefore gave the party a one week ultimatum to put its house in order or he will have no choice than to also leave with his teeming supporters.

“I hereby give the party a one-week ultimatum to correct the anomalies in our great party in the state or else I will also leave the party with my supporters”, he added.