‘Ihedioha And Sons’: Intervene Now To Avoid Defeat – PDP Stakeholders Warn Atiku

The presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been called to urgently intervene in developments in the Imo State chapter of the party.

Stakeholders within the Imo PDP who made the call accused former Governor Emeka Ihedioha of turning the Atiku presidential campaign council list into his personal property.

The list is understood to have generated serious disaffection within the party ranks in Imo.

According to them, if urgent steps are not taken to reverse the situation, the PDP stands the risk of losing Imo Sate in the 2023 elections.

Naija News understands Ihedioha was accused of sharing the membership of the presidential campaign council among his cronies without consultation with other party chieftains in the state and have therefore vowed not to work with him.

The disaffected party chieftains argued that: “The constitution of the party stipulates that for the campaign council to be constituted, the stakeholders of the party must widely be consulted and that the State Executive Committee, comprising of various important dignitaries of the party, must vet and ratify the campaign council.”

Speaking on behalf of others, a former House of Assembly member for Okigwe Local Government Area, Ngozi Ogbu, told newsmen in Owerri that: “We wish to use this medium to inform Ihedioha that the stakeholders of the party in Imo State were summoned to a stakeholder meeting to discuss the composition of the Presidential Campaign Council and Campaign Management Council but to our surprise and chagrin, the secretary of the party, Nze Ray Emeana proceeded to read out a list of members of the Presidential Campaign Council and Management Committee Council.”

Speaking further, Ihedioha was accused of imposing his wish on other members of the party.

“We must recognize that His Excellency Ihedioha is an aspirant for the position of governor of Imo State. There are so many other aspirants for that position. Therefore, it is untidy to impose him on the stakeholders as Chairman of the Presidential Campaign Council,” Ogbu added.

Urgent Intervention Needed

Ogbu, therefore, urged the state working committee as well as the national leadership of the party to intervene in the issue.

He said: “We, therefore, call on the State Working Committee and the Presidential Campaign Council and His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, to arrest the situation urgently, to avoid defeat of PDP in Imo State.”

Speaking on the same matter, a chieftain of the party, Evangelist Mike Ikeoku, who is a member of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council at the National level said Ihedioha is trying to convert party structures into his personal property and such may backfire at the polls.

“PDP as a party belongs to the people and not Emeka Ihedioha and Sons Limited.”

“We want the party to caution Emeka Ihedioha and the State Working Committee in order for our party to win elections in Imo State,” he stated.