Dirty War Continues In Imo PDP

.Caretaker Committee Sack Ward, LGA Exco.

.Sacked Exco Proceed To Appeal Court.

.Ihedioha, Uzodinma Camps Intensify War Ahead of Congress.

.Owerri Municipal Chapter Regroup.

BY EZE EGEJURU

The ongoing war of attrition in the Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has reached a fierce point.

Recently, the State Caretaker Committee headed by Vitalis Okafor, a PDP member from Anambra State, sacked the ward and Local government executives of the party.

The party executives are loyal to the sacked Nnamdi Anyaehie led State executive who was kicked out of office by the Uche Secondus led National Working Committee after the expiration of their tenure.

The tenure of the executives was extended thrice.

 Despite the recognition of the Caretaker Committee by the Ali Modu Sherrif National Working Committee, the sacked Executive propelled by the political camp of Senator representing Imo West, 

Senator Hope Uzodinma has continued to battle to remain in office.

The Executives had approached a High Court in Orlu in Imo West senatorial district seeking to be reinstated. Judgment did not go in their favour prompting them to proceed to the Appeal Court.

However,  the decision of the Caretaker Committee to fire the local government and ward executives said to have more of political loyalists of Former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka 

Ihedioha and other top PDP leaders  has ignited fresh spark in the party.

A top party member in Orlu who called our reporter on phone said the sack does not hold as they wait for Congress scheduled to hold on April 24, 2016.

“Nature abhors vacuum. We are holding forte in the party before the Congress” he explained

The forthcoming congress has further compelled contending forces in the party to go back to the drawing board to perfect strategies to outwit the other on congress day.

Our reporter received a text message from Owerri municipal chapter of the PDP inviting party stakeholders for a crucial meeting. The party in the area is divided along aggrieved party members who are furious with the actions of some leaders who swindled party funds meant for the area during the 2015 elections.

Leader of the party in the area, Ebere Chukwuemeka (ABJ) leads a powerful group of party members who say they are resolute in restoring the PDP to winning ways in Owerri Municipal.

One of the leaders of the party in Owerri Municipal (names withheld) said “he is fed up with the party in the area and will sit on the sidelines to watch events unfold.

“I think I have called it quits with PDP not just in Owerri municipal but in the State, though I do not belong to the APC or any other political party” he said

Similar nocturnal party meetings are taking place in other local governments of the party in the State as various groups fine tune strategies for the biggest battle on Congress day.

This situation further raise concern if the PDP in Imo State will get its acts together before 2019 to dislodge the All Progressive Congress who has a sitting powerful, incumbent Governor, Rochas Okorocha that is bent on installing a successor in 2019.

 Investigations reveal that the party remains sharply divided between Ihedioha and Uzodinma who are speculated to be desperate to grab the party’s governorship ticket in 2019.

The two camps, it was observed lately have devised several measure to ensure they install their surrogates and loyalists as party executive members from the State to the ward levels. This has also polarized the leadership cadre of the party as most of the party bigwigs have either aligned with the two camps or playing politics of “ siddon de look” waiting for the outcome of the party congress.

The PDP in Imo State has lost the quest to capture Government House, Owerri since 2011 and is desperate to stage a comeback to the seat of power in 2019 using groaning hardship ravaging the State as a campaign slogan to earn the support of the sophisticated Imo electorate.