PDP Zonal Chairman Accuses Gov Mbah of Colluding with APC Agents Against PDP in Southeast
The National Vice Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Southeast zone, Hon Chidiebere Egwu has clarified that the party has not conducted congresses in Ebonyi State.
In a statement issued in Abakaliki on Thursday by Prince Ify Chijioke, the SA media and Publicity to Hon, Egwu, the Southeast PDP leader disclosed that a certain list circulating online being purported to be list of elected state and local government executives of the party in the state was false and invalid.
Hon Chidiebere Egwu
Hon Egwu accused Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State of colluding with a former zonal officer of the party, Mr. Ali Odefa in circulating falsehood about the PDP in Ebonyi State.
According to the statement, “What transpired was an illegal, stage-managed event orchestrated by APC-sponsored agents led by the Governor of Enugu State, Barr. Peter Mbah, in connivance with the expelled Chief Ali Odefa. It is on record that Ali Odefa had been suspended by his ward and subsequently expelled from the party, a position upheld by competent courts. He is no longer a PDP member, and any activities linked to him are null and void.”
Hon Egwu explained that , “the actions of Ali Odefa and Peter Mbah, are acts of desperate men who are bent on hijacking the party’s structure(s) in the South East, and lord on everyone without following due process and party’s guidelines; we promise them that we won’t let that happen, for they will be vehemently resisted.”
Citing a Federal High Court judgement, Hon Egwu revealed that both the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) and the Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC) was not part of the “charade” that is being paraded as list of PDP executives members in Ebonyi State.
Part of the statement reads:
“On Monday, 11th December 2024, the Federal High Court in Abakaliki, presided over by Hon. Justice Hillary I.O. Oshomah, in Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/183/2024, categorically restrained the PDP (1st defendant) from holding any congress in Ebonyi, and equally barred INEC (2nd defendant) from monitoring such an exercise. The ruling was clear: the proposed congress lacked due process and was riddled with irregularities engineered by Odefa, Mbah, and their APC sponsors.
“INEC, in its wisdom, obeyed the order and rightly refused to monitor or supervise the charade. Importantly, this judgment has not been appealed, neither has it been set aside by any higher court, which makes it valid and binding in law.
“We are also letting the public to know that any congress can only scale through if the NWC ratifies and presents it before NEC (National Executive Council) but in this case, it wasn’t. And after that, the chairman and the national secretary will be the one to write to INEC, that the congress that they even monitored was valid, and in line with the party’s guidelines; but in this case, it wasn’t.
“The NWC, knowing that what happened the last time “was a joke,” has now confirmed that fresh congresses for Ebonyi and Anambra States from Ward through Local Government to State level, will be scheduled in due course. For a date will soon be announced. This press release is pertinent because we don’t want the public to be deceived by APC members putting in PDP garb like the former PDP member chief Ali Odefa, and governor Mbah of Enugu State.”
Egwu therefore, called on “PDP members and loyalists across Ebonyi State, the South East, and Nigeria at large to remain calm, resolute, and committed. No amount of blackmail, lies, or APC-sponsored propaganda will derail our mission to reposition the PDP and reclaim Ebonyi State in 2027.”
The full statement reads:
𝐏𝐃𝐏 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭: 𝐍𝐨 𝐏𝐃𝐏 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐲𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 — 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐏𝐂
The Office of the National Vice Chairman, PDP South East Zone, Hon. Goodluck Chidiebere Egwu, has been alerted to false reports circulating in some media outlets claiming that a PDP congress was held in Ebonyi State and that executives were elected. We state categorically that no lawful PDP congress was conducted in Ebonyi State at Ward, Local Government, or State level. The names being circulated as “executives” are products of a staged charade and carry no legitimacy whatsoever.
What transpired was an illegal, stage-managed event orchestrated by APC-sponsored agents led by the Governor of Enugu State, Barr. Peter Mbah, in connivance with the expelled Chief Ali Odefa. It is on record that Ali Odefa had been suspended by his ward and subsequently expelled from the party, a position upheld by competent courts. He is no longer a PDP member, and any activities linked to him are null and void.
The actions of Ali Odefa and Peter Mbah, are acts of desperate men who are bent on hijacking the party’s structure(s) in the South East, and lord on everyone without following due process and party’s guidelines; we promise them that we won’t let that happen, for they will be vehemently resisted.
By PDP procedure, the National Working Committee (NWC) was to hand congress forms to the zonal leadership namely the Organising Secretary and the Legal Adviser who would serve as chairman and secretary of the exercise. In a desperate bid to subvert due process, Governor Peter Mbah and Ali Odefa ambushed the NWC, and hijacked the forms. At that time, Ebonyi PDP had no executives in place.
The matter became known when some PDP members decided to purchase forms only to be frustrated because Peter Mbah and Chief Ali Odefa has illegally taken possession of the forms. In a bid to redeem the party’s image, and not to allow few overwhelm it, PDP in Ebonyi and party loyalists promptly took the matter to court to seek for a redress.
On Monday, 11th December 2024, the Federal High Court in Abakaliki, presided over by Hon. Justice Hillary I.O. Oshomah, in Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/183/2024, categorically restrained the PDP (1st defendant) from holding any congress in Ebonyi, and equally barred INEC (2nd defendant) from monitoring such an exercise. The ruling was clear: the proposed congress lacked due process and was riddled with irregularities engineered by Odefa, Mbah, and their APC sponsors.
INEC, in its wisdom, obeyed the order and rightly refused to monitor or supervise the charade. Importantly, this judgment has not been appealed, neither has it been set aside by any higher court, which makes it valid and binding in law.
We are also letting the public to know that any congress can only scale through if the NWC ratifies and presents it before NEC (National Executive Council) but in this case, it wasn’t. And after that, the chairman and the national secretary will be the one to write to INEC, that the congress that they even monitored was valid, and in line with the party’s guidelines; but in this case, it wasn’t.
The NWC, knowing that what happened the last time “was a joke,” has now confirmed that fresh congresses for Ebonyi and Anambra States from Ward through Local Government to State level, will be scheduled in due course. For a date will soon be announced. This press release is pertinent because we don’t want the public to be deceived by APC members putting in PDP garb like the former PDP member chief Ali Odefa, and governor Mbah of Enugu State.
We therefore call on all genuine PDP members and loyalists across Ebonyi State, the South East, and Nigeria at large to remain calm, resolute, and committed. No amount of blackmail, lies, or APC-sponsored propaganda will derail our mission to reposition the PDP and reclaim Ebonyi State in 2027.
Hon. Egwu thanks the NWC, the National Chairman Ambassador Umar Damagun, the National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the Chairman of the PDP Reconciliation Committee Senator Bukola Saraki, the BOT members, and other PDP leaders for their steadfast leadership in safeguarding the integrity of the party, and by not allowing fifth columnists to destroy the party.
The PDP remains strong, indivisible, and on course. Ebonyi and the South East will rise again.
𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝:
𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐟𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐣𝐢𝐨𝐤𝐞
𝐒𝐀 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 & 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲,
𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐏𝐃𝐏 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞
