PDP forum accuses party’s national leadership of sabotage, negligence

A group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State has accused the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) of deliberately sabotaging and neglecting the party in the state.

The group, the Rebranded Abia PDP Forum, said the alleged sabotage and negligence was part of a grand plot with an unnamed opposition party in Abia and a member of the PDP’s Board of Trustees to destroy the party.

The group, on Monday, submitted a protest letter to the Acting National Chairperson of the PDP, Umaru Damagun, and other members of the NWC.

This is contained in a statement forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES by a former Commissioner for Information in Abia State, John Kalu, on Wednesday.

Our grouse

The PDP group said they were shocked that the national leadership of the party had not done anything to address an existing leadership vacuum in the state chapter of the party.

It specifically said the party’s national leadership had not constituted a caretaker committee to supervise the party’s affairs in the state more than two months after a court injunction was issued against the party’s State Working Committee (SWC).

The court injunction, according to the statement, was also against the conduct of PDP’s state congress.

The group argued that the PDP national leadership ought to have constituted a caretaker committee for the party in the state pending the exhaustion of the court processes.

Meanwhile, the PDP has announced the constitution of a caretaker committee for the party in Abia State.

The announcement came on Monday, shortly after the Abia PDP Forum submitted the protest letter to the party’s national leadership.

‘PDP national leaders not supporting Abia chapter of the party’

Speaking to reporters after submitting the protest letter on Monday, Mr Kalu alleged that the PDP national leadership has not been supporting the state chapter of the party.

The PDP chieftain said the PDP national leadership appears to be playing a script aimed at polarising and paralysing the party in the state.

He gave an instance of the alleged negligence by saying the PDP national leadership did not intervene during an over 10-month battle to get party member Aaron Uzodike inaugurated as a lawmaker in Abia State.

“Despite this long battle, we did not receive any support from the NWC of our party even after repeatedly briefing them on the matter.

“Not even a single press statement came from the NWC to condemn the (state) governor’s action and join us to pressure him to do the right thing,” Mr Kalu said.

Continuing, he said: “As If that was not enough, it is now more than two months since some fifth columnists were sponsored to obtain a court injunction against the party’s congress in Abia.

‘No effort to vacate the court injunction’

Mr Kalu expressed worry that local elections in the state had been scheduled for November, but the PDP members had yet to buy nomination forms.

“At the moment, there is even no known effort by the NWC to vacate the obnoxious court injunction and also punish the infiltrators who took the party to court for not first utilising the internal conflict resolution mechanisms of the party, in line with our constitution,” he said.

“Instead, all we hear from the rumour mill is that there are members of the NWC and Board of Trustees involved in the destabilisation agenda.”

PDP silent

The national spokesperson of the PDP, Debo Oluganagba, did not respond to calls seeking his comments.

Mr Ologunagba was yet to respond to a WhatsApp message seeking his comments as of the time of filing this report.