Some stakeholders of the PDP in the state have rejected the list of the party’s presidential campaign council for the state, as recently announced.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Imo state has been rocked by an internal crisis over the composition of the campaign council for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar in the state.
Some stakeholders of the PDP in the state have rejected the list of the party’s presidential campaign council for the state, as recently announced.
The state secretary of the party, Nze Ray Emeana released the list on Sunday, with the immediate past governor of the state, Emeka Ihedioha, heading the council as its chairman.
Addressing journalists in Owerri, the aggrieved members of the party described the list as an extension of Ihedioha’s campaign council.
Speaking on behalf of the stakeholders, Ngozi Ogbu noted that there was no consultation before the composition of the list.
He, therefore, dismissed the list as fake, describing it as a product of imposition.
Ogbu, who is the Director-General of Divine Mandate Movement, a campaign structure of the National Secretary of the PDP, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, said stakeholders of the party were summoned to a meeting at the secretariat to discuss the composition of the campaign council, but they were surprised to discover that there was already a list.
Also speaking, Myke Ikoku corroborated Ogbu’s claim and called on the National Working Committee of the party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to address the issue.
Meanwhile, some members of the party have protested against their alleged exclusion from the party’s presidential campaign council list.
Supporters of Samuel Anyanwu, national secretary of the party, were said to have clashed with the supporters of Ihedioha, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
In a video obtained by SaharaReporters on Tuesday, the supporters were seen singing protest songs in what was apparently a rowdy affair.
The crisis was said to have started when Ihedioha stood up and announced himself as the chairman of the campaign council, while he announced his former deputy, Gerald Irona as the deputy chairman of the council.
This led to an uproar as several members stood up and rejected the development with some claiming that a governorship aspirant cannot also be the chairman of the presidential campaign council, saying it is against the party’s constitution.
The Elders Council, Board of Trustee members of the party in the state as well as other critical stakeholders were said to have boycotted the meeting.