Abia PDP crisis deepens as Abaribe, 10 others reject delegates’ list

SENATE minority leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, and 10 other Abia State governorship aspirants, yesterday, rejected the list of delegates submitted to the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP).

The aspirants, who took their protest to the national secretariat, noted: “At the centre of the vexed issues is the obvious manipulation by a segment of the State Executive Committee of the party, to subvert the democratic process, which is geared towards achieving a predetermined goal of imposition at all levels.”

Reading a prepared document signed by all the aspirants, Abaribe said: “We are, therefore, here in our party’s national headquarters to alert the party and the Nigerian public of this ugly development, which, if not stopped, could spell doom for the party ahead of the 2023 general elections, not only in Abia but in the South East as a whole.”

Abaribe said there was not and has never been any ward congress to elect the three- man ad- hoc delegates in Abia.

He further alleged that the chairman of PDP in Abia usurped the powers of PDP’S National Working Committee ( NWC) as he singlehandedly wrote a letter to inform the Independent Nation Electoral committee ( INEC) about the congress.

“It is absurd that what is being bandied as a list emanated from an imaginary congress, conducted vide a letter of notice to the Abia State Resident Electoral Commissioner ( REC), signed by the state chairman of the PDP, Mr. Allwell Okere. The implication is that the functions of NEC and NWC was performed by a state chairman of the party and not the national chairman and secretary of PDP,” Abaribe stated.

The aspirants advised the Iyorchia Ayu- led NWC to disregard the list.

They said: “INEC has come forward to clarify that it neither received any communication from the PDP national chairman and the national secretary to participate nor did it monitor such exercise.”