Ebonyi PDP pleads with Gov Umahi to surrender party Secretariat
PDP
Zara Nwachinaemere Abakaliki
State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Hon. Fred Udeogu, Monday, pleaded with governor David Umahi of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to facilitate a peaceful surrender of the party Secretariat since the former factional chairman, Onyekachi Nwebonyi has defected to APC.
Udeogu made the appeal at the PDP stakeholders meeting at Salt Lake Hotels, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.
He said that having taken over the leadership of the party in Ebonyi State, he will ensure that all their teeming members are united to work assiduously for victory come 2023.
Udeogu noted that no ward or local government executive of the party defected to APC as claimed by Bar Onyekachi Nwebonyi. Even as he condemned series of communal clashes which has engulfed Ebonyi state in recent times.
“We hereby plead with Governor Umahi to facilitate a peaceful surrender of our party Secretariat which they had attempted to occupy and vandalize.
“…the spate of politically motivated killings across the state is condemnable and unacceptable. We urge the Governor to take steps to stem down this unwarranted violence in the interest of our dear state” he added.
Addressing the mammoth crowd that attended the meeting, the South East Vice chairman of the party, Ali Odefa, charged the party members to remain resolute that Ebonyi state remains a PDP state.
He said that PDP is a party that believe so much in action, noting that the really members of the party are those in charge now.
Odefa stated: “We are not in a shouting match, it is those people that are talking, they are shouting. We are on the drawing board; we are planning, we are calculating, we are reaching out to people and the result is what you just saw that happened in Aba, Abia State on Saturday. Politics is not shout shout, talk talk. We are not noise makers, we are focused.
“Haven’t you see now that the people who were originally not part of us have left? We are all happier together now. The embittered ones have left our party now and we now know how many we are and we, the party are happier and we move forward.
“Everybody here I can assure you are the people that can win elections in their places. You cannot go to Ivo local government where Senator Anyim Pius Anyim is from and you will say you will win there. In Onicha local government, we are there, Hon. Linus is from Onicha local government, Ifeanyi Chuks is from Onicha local government. It is simple Mathematics. Politics is not shouting; I will crush you, I will grind you. No, we have gone beyond that era.
“I want to encourage you, do not be intimidated. Ali can not come back to Abakaliki, Ali cannot come back to Abakaliki, is this not Ali? I am the supreme leader and pepper them, gang, they can’t do anything. Do not be afraid, call your meetings, mobilize your people, call your meetings, secure your meetings, they won’t do anything, they are frustrated, they are on their way to APGA. One advantage you have over them is that in our party, we will democratize the process of primaries. Everybody will have a level playing field to contest any primaries.
“As you know, southeast is PDP. The only Governor they have in the southeast was stolen from the backyard; in Imo, they used the court to steal that one from us. Of course, Ebonyi, only him defected. So, our party is on the ground.
“The era of intimidation is gone. Police cannot intimidate us, they cannot use SSS against us, they will not use the court against us. We will resist all these dictatorial tendencies and they are already tired. We will continue to uphold the principles and core values of our party, don’t be afraid.
Those in attendance at the stakeholders meeting include, former Secretary to the government of the federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, former Governor of Ebonyi State, Senator Sam Egwu, the two serving senators Obinna Ogba and Amah Nnachi, all the members of the federal House of Representatives under PDP, and some members of the State House of Assembly.
