*Says S’East may become only region without PDP governor
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the party, Chief Augustine Nnamani, says the PDP is to blame should the Enugu State governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, ultimately dump the party.
Rumours have been rife over Governor Mbah’s plan to defect from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). An online newspaper, reported that the governor’s defection date would be announced after the last lap of a wide stakeholders’ consultations scheduled to end last week.
It named former governors of Enugu State, including Barr. Sullivan Chime as well as former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, among other senior members and supporters of the APC in Enugu, personalities believed to have influenced Mbah’s decision to join the APC.
It further quoted Governor Mbah’s media aide, Uche Anichukwu, of acknowledging recent wave of political consultations in the state, although he denied any final decision to dump the PDP.
However, reacting to the development on Monday, Chief Augustine Nnamani, said he would not be surprised if Mbah eventually decamps to the APC or any other party, saying PDP should bear the blame if it happens.
“Yes, I can confirm that there have been consultations on the future of Enugu State in particular and South East in general, given how the PDP has treated the region. But the final decision lies with the governor at the end of the day based on the aggregations of the feedbacks.
“As a PDP devotee, it is painful that things were allowed to deteriorate to this level in our party. The South East PDP had acted in accordance with the directive of the National Working Committee by nominating Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye to complete the remaining term of office of the National Secretary occupied by Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who had gone to contest the Imo governorship election. It was supposed to be a routine thing, given the established tradition in the PDP.
“Finally, the Supreme Court, in its considered wisdom, returned the matter to the PDP to decide, saying that neither the court nor the Independent National Electoral Commission had jurisdiction over who becomes party leaders. One expected the party leadership to put their feet down to do the right thing, especially when the NWC and subsequently the PDP Governors’ Forum directed that the South East go back to nominate Anyanwu’s replacement again. But for whatever reason, party leaders kept playing hide and seek,” he stated.
He accused the party of betraying both Mbah and the South East PDP.
“I have been in this party for so long. Until now, I never saw an entire region thrown under the bus to make one person happy. More so a region like the South East that has successively given the party its all, sometimes even when we had our own sons on the tickets of other parties as presidential and vice presidential candidates.
“Governor Mbah was also betrayed, even by his own colleagues. I say so because I have been in the PDP long enough to know that in matters like this, PDP governors rally around their own. But in this instance, both Mbah and the region were thrown under the bus. The party chose the interest of one man or a few individuals over and above the South East interest and position.
“We must recall that the South East PDP already told the PDP to choose between the region and those narrow interests. So, if Mbah defects, he would only be making good the region’s clear threat to reconsider their future with the PDP if the party continued to disrespect their collective interest and position. And that being the case, the party has itself to blame,” he said.
He added that Mbah’s defection, if it eventually happens, would not be like any other defection.
“It means that South East, which used to control the five South East states, would now be the only geopolitical zone without a PDP governor.
“It will also be a huge loss to the PDP as Governor Mbah is unarguably one of the most celebrated and outstanding governors in Nigeria as of today,” he concluded.
The post Blame PDP if Gov Mbah defects – Ex- Enugu party chairman appeared first on Vanguard News.
