|
Listen to article
|
Amid a wave of defections from opposition parties to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has firmly stated that none of its members have abandoned the party. This declaration comes as part of efforts to reassure supporters of the PDP’s unity and resilience in the face of political realignments.
The party’s stance was clarified by its State Publicity Secretary, Lancelot Obiaku, in response to reports suggesting that some members had defected to the ruling APC during a stakeholders’ meeting held on Friday, December 20, 2024. Obiaku reaffirmed the party’s unity, dismissing the rumors as baseless.
“We categorically state that one Mr. Chris Okewulonu and any other who were the subject of such paid publicity stunt were not members of the PDP before their purported defection to APC last Friday.
“Those were men who had been winning and dining long ago with the APC and even openly campaigned for its candidate in the 2023 Governorship election against the collective wish and agreement of their kinsmen,” Obiaku stated.
He clarified that, in fact, the individuals in question had already been dismissed from the party long before their supposed defection to the ruling APC in the state. This, he asserted, made their departure irrelevant to the PDP’s ongoing unity and strength.
Read also: Imo’s Lowest Record In VAT Is Evidence Of Dying Economy – PDP
The Publicity Secretary maintained that the party’s register does not bear any record to suggest that they were members of the party in their respective wards as he challenged the defected individuals to prove otherwise.
He remarked that it is unbelievable and laughable that those acclaimed members of the party were not known by their ward leaders.
“The truth is that it was a ridiculous publicity stunt, using the name of PDP to create relevance for themselves and give the false impression that there is any good thing about Imo APC to attract members of the PDP to the dwindling party.
“While people have their inalienable right and freedom of association, like in the case of Okewulonu and co who associated with a certain Rebuild Imo Political group that has nothing to do with the PDP, we encourage people who want to identify with any political party no matter how bad or unpopular to do so without tagging another party, especially the PDP, to it, as such could come with consequences,” Obiaku further stated.
