By Felix Durumbah, Abuja
Crises-ridden opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is set to lose its main power base, the South-East, except the party’s national leaders urgently hearken to zonal chieftains of the country’s once unshakable ruling party.
At stake is the lingering matter of who occupies the seat of National Secretary at the party’s Abuja national headquarters.
The position is zoned to the South-East.
The ‘warring’ PDP leaders include Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, who is the Leader of the party in the zone; Chairman, Board of Trustees of the party and former Senate President, Chief Adolphus Wabara; National Vice-Chairman (South-East)/Zonal Chairman, Chief Ali Odefa; former Governor of Imo State, Chief Achike Udenwa; and several other heavyweights.
At the Zonal Executive Council (ZEC) meeting of the party, held at Government House, Enugu, on Wednesday, May 14, they threatened mass exodus from the party if their choice of Hon. Sunday Kelly Enemchukwu Udeh-Okoye as the National Secretary is not respected for the last time.
The influential party titans did not indicate to which other party they would likely cross over to, if their demand was not met, but it is strongly believed that the camp of President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would welcome them with open arms, especially as the President’s political strategists hope to use South-East and South-South votes to make up for the expected ballot erosion in the vote-rich North-West where some of the leaders of an emerging mega coalition against him are hard at work to eat into his 2027 vote calculations.
The mood at the ZEC meeting was tense with Gov. Mbah saying it was time for the zone to speak with unity just as Wabara and Udenwa expressed indignation over what they said was PDP’s trampling of the zone.
In a communique after the meeting and read by Chief Odefa, the zone said the meeting was convened to nominate a candidate to complete the remaining term of the position of National Secretary in consonance with the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) directive during its 600th meeting in Abuja.
The Zonal Chairman read: “The South-East ZEC exhaustively deliberated on the directive of the NWC and came to the conclusion that it offered a sure pathway to peace, unity, stability, and progress of our party.
“Consequently, the ZEC unanimously recommended Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the candidate to complete the term of office of the National Secretary.”
They expressed resentment that they were compelled to go through the process of nominating Udeh-Okoye severally since October 2023, demanding that the NWC immediately ratifies his nomination.
Furthermore, they demanded that an acting National Secretary, whom they identified as Arch. Setonji Koshoedo, be made to effectively occupy the position pending Udeh-Okoye’s ratification by the party’s National Executive Council (NEC).
Any further delay on these issues, the party heavyweights warned, would force them to review their joint continued membership of the party,their long standing membership of the party notwithstanding.
Odefa said: “The South-East has consistently served as a stronghold of the PDP from inception. In PDP’s near three-decade existence, we have given our loyalty and all to the party.
“Currently, while the party has been losing key members post-2023 general elections, the South-East PDP is at the vanguard of strengthening the Party by rallying major opposition figures such as in Enugu where the Labour Party, LP, gubernatorial candidate, two LP House of Representatives Members, numerous members of the House of Assembly, among other stalwarts into the PDP fold.
“Therefore, we hope that this time around, the position of the South-East PDP regarding the Office of the National Secretary is accorded the honour and immediacy it deserves. This would bring to a closure the needless lingering dispute over the matter.
“However, in the event that our position is not promptly implemented by the Party, the South-East PDP, as a family, will be compelled to reconsider our relationship with the PDP going forward.”
Lending his voice, Wabara okayed a review of the zone’s relationship with PDP, should there be continued trampling of the zone by the party.
According to the former Senate President, “We have been trampled upon, not taken seriously. If such a position were vacant in the South-South, it would not be like this. And now, it came to us.
“I mean, the usual thing is to play politics with the Igbo man. Yes, we may have to reconsider our stand as far as the party is concerned. But I trust the NWC.”
Also speaking, Udenwa stressed that “we are expecting that this issue will be finally ironed out once and for all. We do not want to be taken for granted by anybody again.”
At the dawn of democracy in 1999, all the five South-East states of Enugu, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, and Anambra were controlled by governors elected on the platform of PDP.
Presently, only Enugu State has a PDP Governor with Ebonyi and Imo under APC; Anambra, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) while, for the first time, Abia went to Labour Party (LP).
However, PDP has maintained impressive electoral performances in the zone, even scoring about or above 25% in the 2023 presidential poll,despite the noticeable dominance of LP candidate, Mr Peter Obi.
