Crisis hits Imo PDP as seven state executive members resign

Seven members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state working committee (SWC) in Imo have resigned from their positions.

The members — Collins Opuruozor, publicity secretary; Ray Emeana, secretary; Greg Nwadike, youth leader; Martin Ejiogu, deputy state chairperson; Maria Mbakwe, women leader; Josiah Eze, treasurer; and Chibuisi Obido, vice chairperson of Orlu zone — resigned from the party.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday in Owerri, Opurozor accused Samuel Anyanwu, the PDP governorship candidate in Imo, of frustrating the effort of the excos to work for the party.

Opurozor alleged that the PDP in Imo “has now been damaged beyond redemption”.

“It is necessary we remind you that in the last three years, this working committee has built a very strong, formidable and enviable PDP in Imo state,” Opurozor said.

“To enable the party to realise its promise of being a truly democratic entity, we envisioned the need to expand the internal democratic space by forming nearly five thousand chapters across all the polling units in the state.

“We took the party to the people and that made us the darling of Imo people. We accomplished this task despite our lean resources as an opposition. No other political party has attained this feat in Nigeria.

“More so, we institutionalised the culture of accountability in party administration and demonstrated a readiness to govern and reform Imo.

“But since Senator Anyanwu became the national secretary of the party, he has never relented in deploying the powers of his office to fight members of this working committee and intimidate even ordinary members of the party.

“Endless strife, mindless wars and erosion of all democratic values and principles have now defined and defiled Imo PDP.”

Opurozor claimed that Anyanwu’s loyalists are always “cooking up puerile petitions” against the SWC members at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.