PDP to Hold Emergency NEC Thursday over Planned Defection of Umahi

Governor Umahi

Against the purported defection plans of Governor Umahi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party has allegedly summoned an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

The meeting has been slated for Thursday, November 19 at the National Secretariat of the party, Wadata Plaza, Abuja.

But, preparatory to the Thursday emergency NEC, the Board of Trustees (BoT), the highest advisory organ of the party, is also scheduled to meet on Wednesday at 2pm.

Consequently, the governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, who last Tuesday told a delegation of the PDP NWC led by the National Chairman, Uche Secondus, that he had made up his mind to leave the PDP, is believed to have been making overtures to his Abia State counterpart, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, to go with him to the APC.

Umahi was reported to have hinged his planned defection to the agreement with the APC that the presidential candidate of the party would be zoned to the South-East.

He claimed that the PDP had been unfair to the South-East since 1999, as it has deliberately refused to zone the presidential ticket of the party to the zone.

Umahi, who is believed to be anxious for a presidential ticket, had in the past identified some other South-East political heavyweights – top among them being Mr. Peter Obi – as potential presidential candidates. Obi, running mate to PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, during the 2019 polls, is widely regarded as perhaps the South-East politician with the brightest chance of winning the presidential election based on his acceptability both within the zone and nationally.

Aside his decision to defect to the APC, Umahi has also been making efforts to woo other PDP governors in the zone to go with him to the APC, with Ikpeazu being the first on his list.

According to a source that was privy to some of the undercurrents, “The move is to have at least three APC governors in the South-East and use it as a canvassing opportunity to convince the APC leadership to give the APC presidential ticket to the zone.”

Inside sources also claimed this was with the consent of the leadership of the pan Igbo socio-cultural group, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

“Election is like warfare and all is good in any war. Since the PDP has deliberately refused to zone its presidential ticket to the zone, the Igbo will go with any political party that panders to its interest. Check out since 1999, the South-East has been a backbone of the PDP and nothing to show for it.

“South-South has produced the President of Nigeria in the person of Goodluck Jonathan, Olusegun Obasanjo from the Southwest was president on the platform of the PDP for eight years. The northwest has had it in late Umaru Yar’Adua and though, he did not win, the Northeast produced the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 general election. Something has to be done to the South-East for its massive support to the PDP,” the source said.

It is for this reason that the PDP has summoned an emergency NEC meeting to address this concern of the PDP in the Southeast.

•Adapted from a THISDAY report.