Barr Chijioke Edeoga, the Labour Party’s 2023 candidate for governor of Enugu State, may be returning to the Peoples Democratic Party, or PDP, ahead of the general elections in 2027.
He spoke on Friday when he received a delegation of the party, led by the state chairman, Dr. Martin Chukwunweike.
They visited to woo Edeoga back to his former party from the LP, where he contested the governorship election.
Addressing journalists after a closed-door meeting with their host, the party chairman said, “When I came on board, I discussed with His Excellency the Governor, Peter Mbah, that we must do everything possible to get all our people back to the party.
“We must do everything possible to ensure that Enugu State becomes 100 percent PDP once again, the way it used to be.
“We took the decision to consult some of our very key people, who have been PDP all along. And number one is the person we are in his house now, His Excellency, Chijioke Edeoga.
“Chijioke Edeoga has gone to the House of Representatives under PDP; when we discussed, he told me plainly that he owes a lot to PDP; he has become a lot because of PDP; he has been in the state exco of PDP, and a lot of other things.
“It was painful to me to come and be acting as PDP chairman without him being in PDP. So, the governor approved that I should go and talk to him and beg him to come back to PDP, because he knows that he is also a force to reckon with in Enugu State politics.”
“We have spoken; we have had a lot of discussions before now and today; we came to his house with members of my executive, and we have discussed with him inside, and he is okay with our visit; he is very satisfied with our visit, and I believe from what he told us that we are going to have him back in the party.
“The only thing is that being somebody who is not standing alone, who has people who are his team members, who are his companions as well, he feels that it is right to also call them and talk to them before giving us the expected verdict.
“It might not cost him anything, but it won’t augur well for his personality if he just tells us, Let’s go back to PDP, but as a man of honor and integrity, as a general who controls people.
“He needs to consult with his people to give us a final statement, which I believe will not be in a long time, so that we all go to the battle as one united family, which we have always been, and we know that Enugu State under Dr. Peter Mbah will eventually become what the PDP used to be.
“He has asked us to send his greetings to the governor, he has asked us to say that he has seen all his good works, even the blind man can see the good roads, so we are happy, this our visit has been very very successful.
“And I believe that when next we call you, it will be for the expected response,” Chukwunweike further stated.
Responding to the team, Edeoga said: “You have the message from the chairman; they want me back to the PDP.
“I have told them that I will consult; I will consult widely because I’m a product of several men of goodwill, men and women of goodwill.
“I will have to take back the message of the chairman and his team; I have enormous respect for the team and the chairman.
“It is not even in the nature of the Igbo man to hear such a weighty thing and respond immediately; I’m going to take it home, and I will as quickly as possible get back to the chairman, and my position will be known.”
