PDP Crisis Deepens As Enugu Faction Produces Nwogbo As Guber Candidate

A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State has declared Chief Dona Nwogbo as the winner of its governorship primary election ahead of the next general election.

Nwogbo’s emergence was announced on Thursday after a factional primary election held in Enugu.

Naija News reports that the exercise also produced candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly seats across the state.

The primaries were conducted across the state and ended with the final collation of results in Enugu.

The development comes amid the lingering leadership tussle within the PDP in Enugu State.

Another faction of the party, led by Chief Vitus Okechi, had earlier conducted separate primaries which produced a former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, as its governorship candidate.

Declaring the result of Thursday’s governorship primary, the Returning Officer for the Enugu State PDP primaries, Yarima Edachaba, said the exercise was peaceful and had wide participation from party members.

He said the turnout recorded in the areas visited by officials showed that members of the party were committed to the process.

Edachaba also commended members for conducting themselves peacefully during the exercise, adding that there was no report of violence.

“By the grace of God, you can see that we have declared the winners of these primaries. By next year, the election itself will commence in full. The turnout was massive in the places we visited. There was no violence or fight in any way,” Edachaba said.

He expressed optimism that the PDP would remain united ahead of the general election despite the issues surrounding its leadership in the state.

Speaking after the collation of results, the Acting factional Chairman of the PDP in Enugu State, Steve Oruruo, described the exercise as a show of internal democracy and transparent leadership recruitment.

According to him, the final collation followed direct primaries conducted from different wards in the state.

“What happened today was the final collation of the PDP primaries which emanated from different wards via direct primaries. It was a glamorous outing that marked the end of elections in terms of primaries. This is the quality of PDP that was presented without rancour and with a sense of equity and fairness,” Oruruo stated.

He said the quality of leadership in any society was largely determined by the credibility and transparency of the process through which leaders emerge.

Oruruo argued that poor leadership often begins with flawed party primaries, adding that Thursday’s exercise was conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner.

The leadership recruitment process should determine the calibre of quality leadership. So the warped value and poor leadership threat that we have witnessed over the years are just mere products of bad primaries of parties. Today we have presented a primary devoid of rancour, quarrel and skirmishes,” he added.

Oruruo Dismisses Crisis Claims

Oruruo also dismissed claims that the PDP in Enugu State was in crisis.

He insisted that the leadership structure under his faction remained intact and legally recognised.

According to him, the leadership of the party exists by virtue of a court judgment which, he said, had not been vacated.

“Enugu has never had any crisis in the PDP. The leadership of this party exists courtesy of the court secured a judgement that has never been vacated in the high court. Beyond this, the Supreme Court nailed it in the final judgement and clearly made it very visible that it is the BOT led by former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, that controls the PDP,” he said.

Oruruo added that the leadership recognised by his faction had appointed officials at the national level to oversee the party’s processes.

He warned that any action taken outside that structure would amount to a breach of the law.

“That leadership has since appointed leaders at the national level to man positions in the PDP and they are in charge of the processes today. So any other thing violates the law and is tantamount to nullity before the law. Any other party acting contrary to the stipulation of the Supreme Court is acting null and void and of no effect,” he said.

Senatorial Candidates Emerge

The faction also unveiled its candidates for the three senatorial districts in Enugu State.

Basil Aguigwo emerged as the candidate for Enugu West Senatorial District, while Dr Nwatu Anthony clinched the ticket for Enugu East Senatorial District.

Lady Asogwa Beatrice was named the candidate for Enugu North Senatorial District.

Reps Candidates Named

For the House of Representatives, Isaac Onoyima emerged as the candidate for Igboeze South/Nsukka Federal Constituency, while Nwatu Chukwudi secured the ticket for Nkanu East/West Federal Constituency.

Lilian Ugwuoke emerged as the candidate for Enugu East/Isi Uzo Federal Constituency, while Onah Uchechukwu picked the ticket for Aninri/Awgu/Oji River Federal Constituency.

Others are Nnaji Erobuike for Enugu North/South Federal Constituency, Chief Cosmas Onyia for Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency, Anikezie Michael for Igbo Etiti/Uzo Uwani Federal Constituency, and Eze Ephraim for Udenu/Igbo Eze North Federal Constituency.

The emergence of the candidates is expected to further shape political developments within the PDP in Enugu State as the rival factions continue to lay claim to the party’s structure ahead of the general election.