Politics

[JUST IN] Imo 2023: PDP Committee Members, State Exco Dump Party

Published

2 years ago

June 18, 2023

Seven members of the state Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party in Imo State on Sunday morning announced their resignations from their positions.

They also announced the withdrawal of their memberships from the party.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s secretariat in Owerri, the state capital, Collins Opurozor who until now was the state publicity secretary of the party said that the candidate of the party for the November 11 governorship election in the state, Samuel Anyanwu, doesn’t have what it takes to govern the state.

He said himself, the secretary of the party Ray Emeana, the youth leader, Greg Nwadike, the deputy state chairman, Martin Ejiogu, the state woman leader, Maria Mbakwe, Josiah Eze, State Treasurer and Chibuisi Obido, State Vice Chairman, Orlu Zone, have resigned from their positions and equally dumped the party.

All of them who were present at the press conference spoke separately and concurred with Opurozor’s assertion.

They however refused to announce which party they were joining, adding that the next party they would join would be made known in the days to come.

Opurozor said, “Since 2020 when this Working Committee took over the administrative cockpit of the PDP in Imo State, we have evolved a tradition of being upfront with you as members of the fourth estate of the realm about all issues that trouble our dear state.

“We have, through such interactions, inspired faith in a better Imo realised through good governance and democratic norms.

“Today, unfortunately, is not for such engagements. In unequivocal terms, we announce to you that the PDP in Imo State has now been damaged beyond redemption by the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu (Samdadday), and the Party is, at last, moving irreversibly to its terminus.

“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. 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 the 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.

“Day after day, Senator Anyanwu still sponsors his very few loyalists to cook up puerile petitions against us and flood the National Secretariat of the Party with such inanities. On the basis of those contrivances, he has continued to threaten to dissolve the Party in Imo State, even after we have defeated him at the Supreme Court. Samdadday has remained unrelenting and unrepentant in his destructive agenda.

“It is heartbreaking to inform you that some of us in the State Working Committee have severally escaped assassination attempts because of the wicked lies which our National Secretary sold to his violent supporters, that we misappropriated Party funds.

“Yet, it was he, Senator Anyanwu, that sent his aides from Abuja to steal the materials for last year’s congresses of the Party, thereby creating a stalemate that gulped all our resources through multiple and controversial exercises and the appeasement of multiple stakeholders so as to save the Party from not fielding candidates for the 2023 elections.

“When Senator Anyanwu eventually succeeded at crowning himself the governorship candidate of the Party, he convened a meeting of all the LGA Youth Leaders at his residence in Owerri and confessed openly that he had lied to them about financial mismanagement in the Party by the State Working Committee.

“He also apologized to the State Youth Leader for the attacks and elimination attempts he had passed through because of the falsehoods which he (Samdadday) had propagated. He also recanted the lies and repeated the apologies during the only meeting he has had with us as members of the SWC since his emergence as a governorship candidate. He said all the falsehoods peddled against us by him were a result of his fight for survival.

“All of us in the State Working Committee are reputable people who have made their marks in their various areas of endeavour.

“How could Senator Anyanwu destroy our reputation, and also destroy the Party we have built, simply because of his fight for individual survival? The implication is that if by mistake he is allowed to govern Imo State, he will further destroy our dear State if only that would guarantee his individual survival!

“Last Saturday, armed thugs sponsored by Senator Anyanwu invaded the Party Secretariat and unleashed violence on us. They vandalized our building, smashed all the glasses, beat our security men to a pulp, broke into our offices, and looted everything they could find. This latest attack was the most brazen and audacious attempt to eliminate us. It is curious that the so-called function which Senator Anyanwu claims to have brought him and his thugs to the Party Secretariat was totally unknown to us as SWC members.

“When the State Chairman, Charles Ugwuh, made efforts to bring the police to investigate the attack, Senator Anyanwu stood against it. Is that not shocking? How can a man who says he wants to make Imo safe again be caught aiding and abetting acts of violence and insecurity even against his own Party members? There is clear danger! There is fire on the mountain! Run! Run!! Run!!! We must now run to stay alive!

“Despite the electoral vigour, creativity and resources which our Party had put into the 2023 general elections, we made a very poor showing simply because Senator Anyanwu directed his loyalists to mobilize and work against the Party and our candidates at all levels in the State.

“As a responsible Working Committee, we had overlooked all these provocations and proceeded to set up a reconciliation committee ahead of the governorship election. But our teeming members across the State who felt deeply hurt by the actions of Senator Anyanwu have appeared before the reconciliation committee and declared their position, that allowing Senator Anyanwu to hold the flag of the Party is a reward for impunity and remorseless anti-party activities.

“This is the reason that, in the aftermath of Senator Anyanwu’s emergence as governorship candidate, hundreds of senior members of the Party have dumped the PDP. Four serving Federal lawmakers also dumped the Party along with thousands of their supporters in a single day. Those who stayed back have completely lost morale, only looking up to us for direction. And the moment has come.

“How do we explain to generations yet unborn that it was under our watch that one man became the National Secretary and governorship candidate, and also single-handedly chose a deputy governorship candidate for himself? Collegiality, stakeholding and consultations have all taken flight from Imo PDP.

“When the Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha held sway as Leader of the Party, we saw a robust, vibrant, inclusive and functional political party system. Every success recorded by Imo PDP is owed to the ingenuity, resources and outstanding leadership of former Governor Ihedioha.

“Conversely, all the maladies that have lately befallen us are squarely the making of Samdadday. And the unjust imposition of Samdadday on us as a governorship candidate by the Ayu-led National Working Committee is the second most cruel occurrence in history after Cain murdered Abel.

“To be very clear, Senator Anyanwu is not running for governorship in November. If he claims to be running, it is not to our knowledge as members of the State Working Committee. The Party does not know what his program looks like. That is if he has any. Governorship campaigns have started, yet the Party does not also know if there is anything like a campaign council.

“The rent for the Party Secretariat has since expired, and the landlord has kept harassing us. Party staff have gone without salaries since Senator Anyanwu emerged as the candidate of the Party. The Party cannot afford to fuel our power generating set and even purchase stationeries for our offices. Yet, someone is parading himself as our governorship candidate. This deceit cannot be allowed to continue, and we cannot lend ourselves as tools for the deception of the Imo people. Never!

“In view of the foregoing and many other shocking discoveries which will soon be made public, we, the undersigned members of the Imo State Working Committee of the PDP, have resolved to resign our various positions in the Party and dump the Party en masse.

“We have today opened the floodgate of resignations and defections, and in the next couple of weeks, there will be only Senator Anyanwu left in the Party.”
PUNCH

Politics

Agege LG Chairman Resigns

Published

6 days ago

November 5, 2025

Editor

Agege Local Government
Mr. Tunde Azeez Disco has stepped down as the Executive Chairman of Agege Local Government, citing persistent health challenges as the reason for his resignation.

The former chairman submitted his resignation letter to the Agege Local Government Legislative Arm.

He noted that his health status had significantly impacted his ability to effectively discharge his official duties.

The legislative house, while acknowledging Azeez Disco’s dedication to public service, quickly accepted the decision. Following a thorough deliberation, a unanimous resolution was passed, accepting the resignation with immediate effect.

The council wished the outgoing chairman well in his future endeavours, with the event underlining the necessity for public officials to prioritise personal health and well-being.

Ganiyu Obasa, son of the Speaker, Lagos State Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, is the Vice chairman of Agege Local Government.

In May, residents of Agege, under the banner of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the local government election in Agege.

They claimed that Obasa allegedly plans to foist his surrogates as candidates in the local government and councillorship elections.

In a meeting held in response to the announcement of candidates for the chairmanship and vice-chairmanship of the Agege Local Government and Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area (LCDA), the aggrieved residents alleged that those shortlisted as candidates to represent the area were handpicked by Obasa.

They said the process was void of internal democracy and collective participation.

Addressing the media, Kamardeen Sabitu, chairman of the PCC for Agege and Orile-Agege, alleged that Obasa did everything possible to manipulate the political structure in the area for personal gain.

During the protest, demonstrators carried placards reading “Red Card, Obasa O to ge, (it is enough). They also chanted songs such as “Enough is Enough, this suffering is enough, Tinubu, rescue us.”

Politics

JUST IN: Reps In Rowdy Session, Reject Key Motions

Published

7 days ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

The plenary session of the House of Representatives on Tuesday turned rowdy after members voted against some motions of urgent public importance, which bordered on the protection of lives and key government assets.

With the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, presiding, the session became rowdy, as members dissolved into a closed-door session to restore order.

It all started when the member representing Somolu Federal Constituency, Lagos State, Ademorin Kuye, drew the attention of his colleagues to what he called the illegal allocation of lands within the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex and prayed the House to refer the matter to the Committee on Public Assets for investigation.

Kuye, a member of the All Progressives Congress is the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Assets.

Proposing an amendment to the prayers, Delta lawmaker and Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, argued that though the matter brought before the Green Chamber is urgent enough, the Committee on Commerce, not Public Assets, should be in charge of the investigation.

Waive was supported by Akwa Ibom lawmaker, Mark Esset, who argued that “It is the Committee on Commerce that should take responsibility on this matter.”

On the other hand, Yusuf Gagdi representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency, Plateau State, supported Kuye, stating that the Public Assets Committee should be allowed to take charge of investigating the allegation of illegal land sale and submit a report to the House.

With no end to the back-and-forth argument in sight, Gbefwi Gaza (SDP, Nasarawa) on the advice of Kalu, proposed the constitution of an Ad-hoc Committee comprising members of both Committees (Public Assets and Commerce) to conduct the probe.

When subjected to a voice vote, almost an equal number of lawmakers voted in support and against the motion.

Not sure whose voices were louder, Kalu gave it to the nays, sparking unrest in the chamber.

Next on the order of urgent motions was Mohammed Bio representing Baruten/Kaima Federal Constituency, Kwara State.

Bio who lamented the worsening security situation in his constituency, prayed the House to urge the military to establish a base in the crisis-prone areas to stem the tides of attacks.

This time, more lawmakers voted against the motion, to the surprise of Kalu and the Kwara lawmaker.

It became clear to Kalu that members had resolved to frustrate the day’s session owing to the rejection of Kuye’s motion.

So, when again voices thundered against Ayodeji Alao-Akala’s motion which drew members’ attention to the need to address Nigeria’s description as a “Country of Particular Concern” by the United States President, Mr Donald Trump; Kalu allowed the motion to pass, forcing members to openly oppose the decision.

Voices of dissent rent the chambers and the plenary was suspended for a closed-door session.

…Details later

Politics

Obaseki’s Media Aide Tackles Edo Information Commissioner Over Alleged ₦600bn Debt

Published

7 days ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

A former Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has denied leaving a debt of N600bn, urging the Monday Okpehbolo-led administration to crosscheck from the Debt Management Office (DMO) before “spewing lies.”

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, had on Monday in Benin claimed that the immediate past administration in the state left a whooping ₦600bn debt.

Reacting to Afegbua’s claim via video call on Tuesday, Obaseki’s Media Adviser, Crusoe Osagie, challenged the current administration in the state to visit the DMO to see whether Edo drew such debt.

Crusoe, who said no government at whatever level has capacity to draw loans or enter into any debt arrangement without the knowledge and approval of the DMO, said lies being spewed by the Okpebholo’s administration is giving the country a bad image.

He said information of such gives the impression that the state is being governed by people who don’t understand what it means to run a government.

Crusoe described the claim as false and outrightly out of place.

On the planned probe of Mosium of West Africa Arts (MOWA), Crusoe noted that MOWA remained an international brand that entered into a business agreement with Edo State with all T’s crossed and all I’s dotted.

He insisted that every record about the transaction between Radisson Hotel and the Edo State government was contained in the transition report.

He said: “MOWA is an international investment drawing funds from the German government, the United Kingdom’s government, and the French government for its development. You think such an investment will be put on a land that was not ceded to that organization by the state.

“These people just come out there and toss all kinds of irresponsible information out there. At the end of the day what happens is that all of these turn around to form the intelligence that gathered out of Nigeria by the international community.

“It makes these countries think that the country is a failed state and the place is not being governed.”