…as Wabara vows PDP will resist any such attempt

A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, has said that the fears being expressed by some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that Nigeria could be heading to a one-party state were unfounded.

Okechukwu stated this in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday.

He was responding to an earlier statement by former Senate President and Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Adolphus Wabara.

Wabara had, in reaction to the wave of resignations that hit the main opposition political party in the South East geo-political zone beginning with the resignation of the former governor of Imo State, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, on Tuesday, alleged that the ruling APC was using some self-seeking individuals to destabilize the PDP.

He also vowed that any attempt by the ruling party to turn Nigeria into one-party state would be vigorously resisted.

Vanguard reports following Ihedioha’s exit from the PDP, some of the national officers of the party from Imo State were said to have resigned, including a BoT member, Chief Chris Okewulonu; four zonal officers – Mr Stanley Ekezie, ex-officio Zonal Officer, Chief Austin Okeke, Zonal Publicity Secretary, Chief Emeka Nwokeke, Zonal Organising Secretary, and Mrs Ruth Nkwocha, Zonal Woman Leader; three state officers and a local government chairman of the party in Imo – Mr Kissinger Ikokwu, State Legal Adviser; Mazi Emenike Nmeregini, State Publicity Secretary; Chief David Abanihi, State Assistant Treasurer, and Hon Sambazz Iheaturueme, Obowo LGA Chairman – among others.

“The BoT will wade in expeditiously to save the deliberate and planned extinction of this great party, the People’s Democratic Party,” Wabara had said.

“The BoT with the array of distinguished men and women of invaluable experience and integrity will surely salvage the party. The BoT did it once and shall do it again no matter whose ox is gored.

“The BoT will never allow the APC to use some characters in the PDP to turn this beautiful and sweet Nation (Nigeria) into a one party state,” he had said.

But in his statement on Sunday, Okechukwu said Wabara’s fear was not valid, blaming the former Senate President and other PDP leaders for the crisis in the major opposition party.

Okechukwu said the blame game dished out to the APC by “Senator Wabara and Co who dug the grave of the PDP is misplaced in all materials particular”.

“As long as the nemesis of Wabara and Co’s deliberate crass breach of presidential rotation convention between North and South, albeit PDP’s Constitution; Obi’s Labour Party, Kwankwaso’s NNPP; and Wike’s Masquerade are alive and breathing, with open arms admitting defector-exits from PDP, there is no valid fear of one party state in Nigeria,” he said.

Okechukwu maintained that the blame game from the BoT Chairman is no solution provider, asking the PDP to “earnestly introspect on how best to pick the pieces of the party that is dangerously sinking”.

“Instead of careful introspection of its bleeding ailments and how to fix Obi and Kwankwaso’s exit and its troubled Wike’s Masquerade, plus imbibing the best tenets of internal democracy devoid of breach of the zoning convention, extant laws, planlessness and squandermania, the PDP most times arrogantly hauled unnecessary blame game on the APC,” Okechukwu said.

“My understanding from our elder statesman’s vituperation is that PDP may not even recover in August after the ward, LGA, and State congresses and national convention, when they failed ab initio to embark on careful introspection to examine the root causes of Obi and Kwankwaso’s exit, especially Wike’s Masquerade which led a party that boasted of 60 years uninterrupted reign to woeful failure in 2023 presidential election.

“Truly PDP needs soul searching to make amends, rather than sweeping its troubled faction under the carpet,” he said.