These are not the best of times for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, especially in one of its strongholds, the South-East geo-political zone as its rump has been exposed by a whirlwind blowing across the region. The whirlwind that may finally sound the death knell for the party in the South-East began on April 23, with the resignation of a former governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha.

The resignation of the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives triggered the highest massive departure of PDP stalwarts ever recorded since its inception in 1998. As of the last count, over 7,000 stalwarts of the party resigned their membership of the party in Imo State.

Apart from Ihedioha, other stalwarts of the PDP who left the party, according to a former ex-officio member of the South-East zone of the party, Stanley Ekezie, were former governor, Air Commodore Luke Ochulor (retd.); former deputy governor, Gerald Irona; former ministers, Charles Ugwuh and Chief Chuka Odom; PDP Board of Trustees member, Chris Okewulonu; former member of the PDP National Executive Council, Henry Ekpe; former members of House of Representatives, ThankGod Ezeani, Mayor Eze, Uche Onyeagucha, Ugonna Ozurigbo, Obinna Onwubuariri, and Jonas Okeke; Chairman and Secretary of PDP Elders Committee, Prof Jude Njoku and Prof Obioma Iheduru, respectively.

Among those who resigned are members of the South-East Zonal Executive Committee, Chief Ekezie, and Chief Augustine Elochukwu; two senatorial candidates of the party in the 2023 general election, including Chief Emmanuel Okewulonu; four House of Representatives candidates of the party in the last election, including, Chibuzo Agulanna; former Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Lawman Duruji, and Okey Onyekamma, 24 former local council chairmen, and about 291 Interim Management Committee members, who served under the Ihedioha administration.

Others are over 2,277 top leaders and financiers of the party across the state; 29 out of 39 members of the State Executive Committee; 13 out of 27 PDP council chairmen; 267 out of 432 PDP council officers; 243 out of 305 ward chairmen; over 3,888 ward executives of the party.

In his resignation letter, Ihedioha said that he was leaving the PDP because it failed to offer credible opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress, failure to carry out internal reforms, consistent drift from the ideals upon which the party was founded, and the party’s inability to enforce its own rules and constitution.

As if that was not enough to bring the opposition PDP to its knees, the defection/resignation ship berthed in Abia State, where very strong members of the party resigned their membership in droves. While those who resigned from the party in Imo State had yet to declare their next destination politically, those in Abia State made it known that they were on their way to the APC and the Labour Party.

Prominent PDP members who defected from the party recently include former Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Chief Chinedum Orji; ex-Deputy Speaker and former presidential aspirant, Cosmos Ndukwe; ex-member of the House of Assembly, Chief Jerry Uzosike; former commissioners, Eze Chikamnayo, and Ndukwe Adindu; former Chief of Staff, Prof Anthony Agbazuere.

Others include former Minority Leader, Prince Ikedi Ezekwesiri; the PDP deputy governorship candidate in the 2023 election, Jasper Uche; former executive chairman of Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area, Ike Anyatonwu; ex-executive chairman of Isiukwuato LG, Chima Agbaeze; former Executive Chairman of Ohafia LG, Dr Ukiwe Okorafor; and former General Manager of Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, Eze Okwulehie.

Not left out in the defection jamboree are prominent businessman and PDP chieftain in Abia, Chief Chris Odinaka Igwe, and the former National President of Ibeku Youth Association, Uzodinma Ugele.

Recall that Chief Igwe had dumped the PDP with over 5,000 PDP faithful for the APC, after a marathon meeting with the lawmaker representing Abia North Senatorial District, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.

Meanwhile, members of the executive committee of PDP Ward C in Item, Bende Local Government Area of Abia State have collectively resigned from their positions within the party. They made their decision to resign known in a letter addressed to the leaders of the party in Bende Local Government Area, copied to the state PDP chairman and the acting National Chairman of the PDP.

Explaining that their collective decision was prompted by the disorderliness and activities within the national leadership of the party, the chairman of the PDP, Ward C, in Item, Francis Okoye, added that their decision was also hinged on the support for their leader and former presidential aspirant of the PDP, Cosmos Ndukwe.

The letter reads, “The entire executive of PDP, Item Ward C, had in a meeting held today, April 30, 2024 at the party secretariat, with some stakeholders of PDP Item Ward C resolved as follows: “We have observed with dismay the activities and disorderliness in the national leadership of the PDP.

“We hereby declare our overt confidence and support for our leader, Rt Hon Cosmos Ndukwe, who just resigned his membership from the party. We therefore tender our resignation from the PDP in support of our leader, Rt Hon Cosmos Ndukwe. We thank the local government leadership, state and national for the opportunity given to us.”

To further deplete the rank of the opposition party in the South East, prominent members of the opposition PDP in Ebonyi State dumped the party for the ruling APC. The defector included a former member representing Abakaliki/Izzi Federal Constituency and former governorship aspirant in the 2023 general elections, Sylvester Ogbaga, former senator and former member of the PDP National Working Committee, Sylvanus Ngele, and other executive members of the party.

The defection ceremony took place at Abakaliki Local Government Area Headquarters, Nkaliki on Saturday. The two former PDP bigwigs; Ogbaga and Ngele noted that the major reason for dumping the PDP was that the party was unable to produce a governor from the Izzi clan, which APC was able to achieve, in line with the existing charter of equity in Ebonyi State.

They further stated that the present administration led by Francis Nwifuru, anchored on the people’s charter of needs, was the main reason for joining forces with the ruling party to bring more dividends of democracy to the people of Ebonyi State.

Receiving the defectors, some critical stakeholders and members of the progressives family, including the APC National Treasurer, Chief Matthew Uguru, the APC State Chairman, Chief Stanley Emegha, the Executive Chairman of Abakaliki LG, Stephen Nwogba, the APC Local Government Chairman, Paulinus Atam, former Chairman Abakaliki LG, Emmanuel Nwangele, the Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Matthew Nwobashi, among others, hailed the defectors on their bold steps and encouraged them to go to their various wards to obtain their membership cards.

Recall that some highly placed members of the PDP in Abakaliki Local Government Area, including the member representing the people of Abakaliki North in the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Victor Nwoke, were received into the APC family on 29th April 2024, during the visit of the governor’s wife, Mrs Mary-Maudlin Nwifuru.
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Reacting to the gale of defection that hit the Imo State PDP, the spokesperson for the party’s National Secretary, Ikenna Onuoha, insisted that the party was not in any way worried about the exit of the former acting Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ihedioha and his supporters.

He insisted that the state chapter of the party had moved on “with all of its organs functioning at an optimal level, adding, “The PDP is intact and moving in the right direction. We are not disturbed by the few persons who resigned recently. The party is committed to retrieving the mandate the people of the state gave it in the last governorship election through the court. We wish not to be distracted.”

Similarly, the Abia State PDP said it was not perturbed by the gale of defections/resignations that hit it, describing it “as an opportunity to regenerate and grow bigger.”

In a statement by the state Vice Chairman and acting Publicity Secretary of the party, Elder Abraham Amah, and made available to Freelanews, the party insisted that it is standing tall like the proverbial Iroko tree, as an emblem of strength, resilience, and enduring growth.

Amah said, “The departure of these esteemed individuals, akin to the shedding of dry leaves, is an essential process in the rejuvenation of our party. This symbolic act paves the way for the emergence of a new era within the Abia PDP, one characterised by vitality, dynamism, and a fresh perspective. It is a necessary step towards creating a reinvigorated political landscape that is free from the inertia of the past and embraces the promise of a brighter future.

“As we bid farewell to these members, we do so with gratitude for their contributions and with a profound sense of optimism for what lies ahead. Their exit signifies not an end, but a new beginning, a chapter in which dormant energies are awakened, and sleeping stakeholders are revitalised. It is a time for introspection, renewal, and a collective commitment to building a stronger, more inclusive party that truly represents the aspirations of the people.

“In the spirit of the Iroko tree, we embrace change as an inherent part of growth and evolution. We remain steadfast in our dedication to the values of democracy, unity, and progress. Together, let us nurture the seeds of transformation sown by this moment of transition, knowing that from the shedding of old leaves shall emerge the flourishing canopy of a new, vibrant Abia PDP.”

In his reaction to the development, the Abia APC Chairman, Dr Kingsley Ononogbu, was joyful that the former PDP chieftains considered the APC in their choice of alternatives as a place to be. He said, “I’m excited that in their search for an alternative, they considered the APC as a place to be. So, they are welcome. Party is about people, and the more people you have in a party, the bigger the party is.

“There is no fear of intimidation from the old members by the new members coming to the party. We have a structure, they understand the structure and nobody is forcing them to come and they are coming, we are a party that is governed by rules, so they will play by the rules. What is happening now is the registration at the ward level, where they were presented the membership card and the broom which is our symbol.”

Speaking, the APC Publicity Secretary in Abia State, Chief Okey Ezeala, told Freelanews that the influx of new members to the party was a welcome development, adding the party was not taking the new members for granted. He, however, said there was a guideline for membership drive within the party, urging the new members to study the constitution of the party and avoid making mistakes.

He added, “Our constitution is clear about the process of becoming a member. Membership registration can only be done at the ward level of the party by the ward chairman or ward secretary. Anything done contrary to the constitution of the party is just a charade and cannot stand. So, I’ll advise the new members of Abia State APC to look well before they fall into traps of illegality from day one.”

Also in his reaction, the Abia State LP Chairman, who is now the National Vice Chairman of the party, C. K. Igara, said, “We have been receiving them and their followers. Let them come and help us develop Abia State better than we have done now.”

In Abia State, political pundits estimated that over two million followers of those who resigned from the PDP were likely to follow them to the APC and LP.

While ranks and files of the PDP are daily being depleted in the South-East, the story is not different in the South-South and North-West and North-Central.

In Edo State, a former governorship aspirant on the platform of the PDP for the September 21 election in Edo State, Felix Akhabue, resigned from the party on May 6. Akhabue was one of the 10 governorship aspirants who protested against the conduct of ward and local government congresses of the party ahead of the party’s primary election which was held in February.

The former chairman of Esan West Local Government Area, and former commissioner for Wealth Creation, Cooperative, and Industry during Governor Godwin Obaseki’s first tenure dumped the party in a letter dated May 6, 2024, and addressed to the Ward 7 chairman of the party in Esan West Local Government Area.

The letter which was copied the PDP chairman in Esan West LGA of the party, the state chairman, and the National Working Committee of the party, reads, “I write to formally notify the party through your office of my resignation as a member of the PDP, henceforth. My decision to resign is borne out of the glaring prejudicial activities of the party’s leadership against my fair, reasonable, and continuous participation as a member of the party.”

Earlier, the former governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, had also dumped the PDP for the APC. Shema was governor of the state for eight years between 2007 and 2015 under the PDP banner. The former governor registered with his new party, the APC, at Shema Ward party office, in Dutsinma Local Government Area, and was issued an APC membership card number 26551, by the state’s APC chairman, Sani Aliyu-Daura.

Aliyu-Daura commended Governor Dikko Radda and his immediate predecessor, Aminu Masari, for their roles in securing the defection of the influential figure. Shema said that he joined the APC to contribute to the development of the state and the country in general.

Political pundits opined that the opposition PDP, despite the braggadocio it was showing would never remain the same, especially with its depletion in its traditional stronghold, the South-East.

Freelanews further learnt reliably that most Abia PDP chieftains were planning to dump the party soon for the APC in a grand reception in Umuahia that would attract some governors on the platform of the party, ministers, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

PDP leaders fret

Meanwhile, PDP leaders are concerned with the growing discontent among its members which has resulted in the exodus of some of its bigwigs, especially in the South-East and South-South zones, which hitherto have been considered its stronghold.

A concerned party leader, who craved anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue, insisted that although the party could not admit it in public, it was worried. He admonished party leaders to sincerely resolve all internal issues if the party was to find redemption, adding that the PDP was not designed to be in opposition.

It is however clear that for the PDP, things have fallen apart and the centre can no longer hold, just as the falcon can no longer hear the falconer.