Edo PDP Crisis Deepens As Aggrieved Members Issues 7-Day Ultimatum

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The lingering leadership crises rocking the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State took a worrisome dimension today, as aggrieved party members from across the 18 council areas and neighbouring states, handed a 7-day deadline to both national and state excos to resolve all pending issues or risk mass defection.

Handing down the ultimatum while briefing newsmen in Benin on the confused state of members in the state ahead of the 2023 general elections, the group stated that they can no longer cope with the obvious lapses in the ongoing face-off between the governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki faction and the legacy group led by Chief Dan Orbih, South-South Chairman had created in the state.

Speaking on behalf of aggrieved members who are not comfortable with the prolonged crisis within the party from both factions cutting across the 18 LGAs in Edo and other neighbouring states, comprising of Delta and Ondo, its Coordinator, Chief Victor Ifada (JP), the National President, Esan Uzoya People’s Welfare, said enough is enough of the prolonged directionless state of the party few months to a very crucial election.

He noted that; “The situation had become so pathetic as the party had been polarized between the Governor who controls the state House of Assembly list and the Chief Dan Orbih legacy group, who c ontrol the national Assembly list as published by INEC, leaving the party faithfuls in a state of confusion”, Ifada disclosed.

“We are therefore using this medium to call on the PDP national Executive, led by Dr Iyorchia Ayu, to harmonize both factions within seven days of this publication, failure to which we shall not hesitate to take our destiny in our hands as we cannot afford to be sitting on the fence when the count down to the general elections had begun.

“We also want to take advantage of this media interaction to call on the judiciary to set the record straight in the Edo PDP crisis with the legal interpretation of the present scenario where INEC recognizes the PDP state House of Assembly candidates of the Governor faction and at the same time accorded the legacy group due recognition of its national Assembly candidates which had contributed in compounding issues for the party.”

According to him; “We are even more surprised that the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who ought to be working towards ensuring the unity of the party in the state by harmonizing all the groups has decided to align with one of the faction, thereby making it seems difficult to reconcile the aggrieved group in the state.

“This bias by the presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku, was demonstrated in his recent visit to the state when he openly identified himself with one of the factions led by the governor, leaving out the person of the party South-South Chairman, Chief Orbih, who is supposed to be a major factor to the party’s victory at the polls.

“While we called on all our members in the 18 council areas of the state to remain focused as we are determined to take a bold step out of the present logjam in the state, we urged the party leadership to act within the stipulated seven days ultimatum as failure to act accordingly would leave us with no option than to make our next move based on our interest as well.”

In a solidarity speech at the venue, a PDP stalwart from Delta State, Chief Collins Akpodiete, expressed the need for true reconciliation of the party across the country before the general elections, noting that the situation was not any different in Delta State, where power play on successor between past and present governors seems to have divided the party.

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