Protest rocks Imo PDP secretariat over three-man delegate election; youths barricade entrance

Protesters suspected to be youth leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday stormed the state secretariat of the party, in Owerri, the Imo State capital, over the conduct of the three-man delegate election in the state.

Armed with placards of various inscriptions, the protesters barricaded the entrance of the party, thereby denying party leaders and visitors’ entrance into the party office to carry out their daily activities.

Some of the placards on display read: “No harmonized Ad-hoc list, no primary election”, “National office should not be a disadvantage to Imo PDP”, “Power belongs to the people” and many others.

Speaking on behalf of the irate youths, a popular youth leader in the party, Emeka Nwokeke, said Imo PDP is on the verge of collapsing.

He said: “We are no longer happy with what is happening in the party, nobody is more PDP than any other and if anything happens to PDP, youths will be the worst hit.

“Some of our party leaders have alternative political parties to go to but we the youths of PDP in Imo State have no other party, anybody doing anything in in view of three-man Ad-hoc delegate without Imo PDP youths is doing so against the interest of our party.”

Also speaking, the state Youth Leader of PDP in Imo State, Greg Nwadike, commended the protesting youths for conducting themselves in a peaceful manner while laying their complaints and grievances on the happenings in the party as regards to PDP delegate list and primary election.

According to Nwadike, “Many youths in PDP have spent millions of naira in their aspiration to represent their different constituencies, you cannot come from nowhere to destabilise the party and youths in PDP.

“Anybody coming from Abuja to conduct delegate or primary election in Imo State must align himself with the guidelines of the party and the guideline of PDP stipulates that the three-man panel sent from Abuja is not yet a panel until they are joined with the electoral panel set up in the state.

“If you are sent from Abuja and you think your God can deliver anybody, you’re making a great mistake, Imo PDP youths will resist anybody who wants to steal electoral materials sent to Imo State, we will do everything possible to protect the integrity of Imo PDP.”

Recall that PDP had scheduled its three-man Ad-hoc delegate election in Imo State to hold next Tuesday while its primary election for state houses of assembly and Federal House of Representatives to take place next Wednesday.