This may not be the best of moments for members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Imo State chapter as it members are calling it quits in droves.
After losing the seat of power in the State in 2011, the party was unable to gain strangle hold of the Government House, Owerri again until the 2019 election when Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha, the party’s Governorship candidate was declared winner by INEC.
But moments after the Supreme Court removed Ihedioha and declared Senator Hope Uzodinma winner of the election, the membership of the party began to nosedive with the party’s State chairman who led the battle for the election victory, Chief Charles Ezekwem, pulling out after resignation from office.
In the last count, Trumpeta can reveal that not less than five State Exco members whose tenures are about to elapse, have dumped the PDP and reportedly heading to APC.
From what a former party stalwart made public, apart from Ezekwem who opened the resignation floodgate, the State Publicity Secretary, Hon Damian Oparah, Youth Leader, Aburi Williams Chibueze Ahanonu and State Assistant Secretary, Okedu have resigned their positions and membership of the party.
Findings by this newspaper showed that the present development in the party is a by-product of the dichotomy that had existed in Imo PDP before, during and after the party’s governorship primaries which Ihedioha won.
Trumpeta recalls that the major contestants were Ihedioha and Senator Sam Daddy Anyanwu who before that contest, was member who represented Owerri East Senatorial Zone in the Senate.
The spate of defections hitting Imo PDP of late may not be unconnected with the silent divisions that ravaged the party after Ihedioha won the primaries and was declared winner of the governorship election by the INEC.
It was gathered that within the State Exco of the party, there were those alleged to be on the side of Sam Daddy while others were of Ihedioha. Trumpeta can also reveal that a careful overview of those who have left the party so far shows that they were of Sam Daddy’s camp of the PDP.
For instance, rumours of planned removal of Ezekwem, the former chairman was ripe moments after the party primaries were concluded even as he was alleged to have been told to step aside before the campaigns arising from the suspicion that he was of the Sam Daddy camp.
Ezekwem while adducing reasons why he left the party early this year after Supreme Court declared Uzodinma winner, told newsmen that he was to be sacrificed in the party before and after the elections because of the accusation that he supported Senator Sam Daddy Anyanwu during the primaries.
The former party chairman summed up that he had made up his mind to dump the party after he noticed that he became an unwanted person due to the suspicion of the link to Sam Daddy Anyanwu.
The party officials who have left their offices before their tenure expires, due to the Sam Daddy factor, are the Spokesman, Hon Damian Oparah. Also, not left out are Aburi and Okedu, former Youth Leader and State Assistant Secretary respectively.
From what Trumpeta reliably learnt, the trio were said to be sympathetic to the ambition of Sam Daddy and therefore afraid of backlashes.
Available information also has it that because of the sanctions handed to Sam Daddy by the Imo State chapter and subsequent exclusion from the affairs of the party, his sympathizers are gradually exploiting the chance to quit the party.
For instance, Ezekwem told the press that the decision against the few LGA party chairmen who were on the side of Sam Daddy had already been concluded before he was notified.
It was further learnt that sympathizers of Anyanwu were waiting for such window to exit the party.
Trumpeta also learnt that the State officials who threw in their resignation letters would have not returned to the State Executive, had the COVID 19 crisis allowed Imo PDP to conclude its congresses, which started with the Wards and LGAs before the Lockdown period stopped the exercise.
