2023: Ex-PDP guber aspirant dumps party, set to pick LP governorship ticket in Enugu

A former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State, Chijioke Edeoga, is set to pick the governorship ticket of the Labour Party (LP) in the state for the 2023 elections.

Mr Edeoga defected to the LP and was adopted as the party’s governorship candidate in the state during a state executive meeting of the party on Saturday, PREMIUM TIMES reliably gathered.

Although the state chairman of the party, Casmir Agbo, had earlier been elected as the party’s governorship flag bearer in the state, he was said to have expressed his intention to withdraw for Mr Edeoga.

When contacted, Mr Agbo confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES, Sunday evening.

He also confirmed that he would “withdraw later” from the race to give way for Mr Edeoga, whom he said, has been designated as the governorship candidate of the party in the state.

“Yes. He has joined the Labour Party, but his governorship candidacy will need to be formalised, he said. “The day it will be formalised, there will be primary election in accordance with the Electoral Act.”

The state chairman said the date of the party’s governorship primary would soon be announced.

Mr Edeoga did not respond to calls and a text message seeking comments from him.

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However, reports in the local media, suggested that the former commissioner has confirmed his emergence as the LP 2023 governorship candidate.

“Yes. It’s true. I’m now the Labour Party governorship candidate,” Mr Edeoga was quoted as saying.

Background

Mr Edeoga contested in the PDP governorship primaries, but lost in the exercise after polling 9 votes to come second to the eventual winner, Peter Mbah, who polled 790 votes.

The former commissioner was said to have been picked by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, as his successor, earlier.

But, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the governor made a last-minute decision to pick Mr Mbah as his successor, barely 24 hours before the PDP governorship election.

The governor’s decision, many believe, resulted in the failure of Mr Edeoga to clinch the ticket despite coming from the Isi-Uzo Council Area, which falls under Enugu East District, where the party had zoned its governorship ticket to.

Mr Edeoga has been agitating for a power shift to the council area on the basis that the area has long been shortchanged in the state’s power-sharing formula.

The agitation had led to the hashtag “Ka Isi Uzo Jee” – meaning Let Isi-Uzo rule. It trended for days on social media before the PDP primary election.

The former PDP member was said to be aggrieved by the governor’s alleged role in his failure at the governorship primary.