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A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State has suspended Ifeanyi Odii, the PDP’s 2023 governorship candidate in the state.
The spokesperson of the PDP faction in the state, Richard Nwali, announced this in a statement on Wednesday.
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Open in WhatsAppApart from Mr Odii, Mr Nwali also named other suspended party members as Paulinus Nwagu, Solomon Onwe, Mudi Erhenede, Chidiebere Egwu, and Moses Idika.
Mr Nwagu, a former senator, was Mr Odii’s running mate in the 2023 governorship election, while Mr Onwe is a former deputy speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly.
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Mr Egwu is a factional national vice chairperson of the party in the South-east, while Mr Idika is the spokesperson of Mr Odii’s political organisation, the Anyi Ga Emeya Movement.
Why the suspension?
Mr Nwali said in the statement that the suspension of the individuals was because of their alleged anti-party activities and other infractions, and that it would last for one month.
The factional spokesperson said the suspended members have been referred to the newly inaugurated disciplinary committee at the PDP’s state secretariat in Abakaliki for further action.
‘It’s contemptuous,’ – Suspended PDP members react
Meanwhile, some of the suspended PDP members have faulted the party’s decision.
Mr Erhenede, a lawyer, dismissed the PDP’s statement as “baseless and contemptuous of court.”
Speaking to reporters in Abakaliki on Wednesday, the politician argued that the PDP has no executive in Ebonyi State.
He contended that those currently claiming to be state executives had no legal standing, as the congress that produced them had been nullified by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
“So, they are just planning with their expelled leader to save face. They don’t even exist in law, talk more of carrying out any act. I have instructed my office, and we are going to serve them Form 48 and Form 49 for contempt of court,” he stated.
Also, the Anyi Ga Emeya Movement, Mr Odii’s political organisation, has urged Nigerians to disregard the purported suspension.
The spokesperson of the political organisation, Mr Idika, in a statement later on Wednesday, corroborated Mr Erhenede’s position that the PDP has no State Working Committee in the state capable of suspending its members.
The spokesperson cited two court rulings from different federal high courts, which he said nullified the congresses conducted by the former South-east Zonal Chairperson, Ali Odefa, and affirmed his expulsion from the PDP.
He said the two separate rulings were delivered on 11 November 2024 and 31 October 2025 in Abakaliki and Abuja, respectively.
“The public should ignore the purported suspension as the faceless individual who issued the statement has no locus standi or any form of authority in the PDP,” Mr Idika said in the statement.
He claimed that some PDP leaders in Ebonyi were working with the party’s National Working Committee to set a date for fresh congresses in line with the Abuja court’s ruling.
The latest development occurred amid an intense leadership crisis in the PDP at the national level, sparked by a planned national convention in Ibadan.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that the PDP currently has no leadership in Ebonyi State after a federal high court nullified the state Congress, which had brought in a new leadership for the party in the state.
Peter Nwele was elected as the chairperson of the PDP in Ebonyi during the now nullified state party congress.
The court ruling has yet to be set aside as of the time of this report.
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