2023: Why PDP May Not Have Candidates In Abia — Former SSG

As the controversy over the conduct of the three-man delegate congress in Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is yet to be resolved, PDP stakeholder and former Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Dr Eme Okoro, has warned that the party might not field candidates for the 2023 elections.

According to the elder statesman, Abia PDP might suffer a similar fate as Rivers and Zamfara States in the 2019 elections if the controversy was not quickly resolved.

He accused the state leadership of the party of unilaterally compiling the three-man delegate list without conducting any election.

The former SSG, therefore, sought the quick intervention of the national leadership of the party to save the party from looming crisis and imminent danger.

The petition dated May 3, 2022, and sighted by Vanguard in Abia read in part: “I write this petition as a stakeholder and as an elder statesman who has made it a point of duty not to sit down and watch few individuals who do not have the interest of our great party at heart destroy same because of personal and selfish interests. 

“I bring this petition to you in view of the imminent and looming calamity that may befall our great party in Abia State as a result of the actions of the Abia State Chapter of the party in seeking to disregard our party’s laid down guidelines for the conduct of primary elections. 

“The Abia State leadership of the party in total disregard of the said guidelines is seeking to impose and compile the list of the 3-man Ad-hoc delegates who are to participate in the primary election for the House of Assembly, National Assembly, and Gubernatorial candidates in preparation for the 2023 general elections.

“To make matters worse, devoted and registered members of our party who indicated interest to stand election for the Three (3) Ad-hoc Delegates in their different wards have been denied opportunity of doing same as the Abia State Leadership led by Allwell Okere Asiforo has concluded arrangements not to hold the election for the said Three (3) Ad-hoc Delegates and has unilaterally compiled the names they desire in place of the Three (3) Ad-hoc Delegates and this has led to several litigations pending in different courts.  

“This action of the Abia State leadership if not checked and the state leadership called to order is likely to cause great harm and misfortune to our party in the 2023 General Election as can be seen in what happened in Rivers, Zamfara, and some other states of the federation.”

The former SSG told Vanguard that other elders of the party including the former Senate President and Secretary of PDP Board of Trustees, BoT, Senator Adolphus Wabara; and former Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,  Onyema Ugochukwu, have also written similar petitions.

The delegate congress in Abia which is yet to hold has triggered protests and counter-protests as aggrieved party members have continued to besiege the party secretariat demanding clarifications.

The protesters who accused Okere-led leadership of compromise called for his sack.

While Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu in a viral video hailed the successful conduct of the exercise in his Ward, the state party Secretary, Mr. David Iro, sharply disagreed with the Governor, insisting that the exercise has not been conducted.

He also said that members of the panel sent by the national secretariat of the party were yet to be formally introduced to the State leadership.