PDP begs Peter Obi, others to return to party

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State has pleaded with Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, to return to the party.

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Mr Obi defected to LP when he felt he could not achieve his presidential ambition within the PDP fold.

The PDP made the call for the return of Mr Obi and others after the enlarged meeting of the State Executive Committee (SEC) to review the state of the party and chart a way forward in Awka on Thursday.

The communique, signed by Chidi Chidebe, the chairperson of the PDP in Anambra, said alliances with ideologically incompatible political formations, in the guise of coalitions, would likely not yield the desired success.

“The committee extends an open invitation to all aggrieved and former members of the PDP in Anambra, particularly our revered former governor, Mr Peter Obi, to return home and reunite with the now rejuvenated and restructured PDP.

“We will gladly welcome our brothers and sisters back to join us in the collective quest for a better Nigeria,” he said.

Mr Chidebe told the Anambra electorate to support Jude Ezenwafor and his running mate, Francis Okeke, in the coming election while urging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure a fair, transparent, and impartial electoral process.

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“We call on the good people of Anambra to remain steadfast in their historic support for the PDP and to come out en masse to vote for our candidates,” he said.

He announced the unanimous nomination of Clems Ezike to fill the vacant position of national ex-officio from Anambra.

He urged the Southeast Zonal Executive Committee under Ali Odefa to recognise Mr Ezike and transmit his name to the national secretariat.

He commended the party leadership for a successful National Executive Committee meeting on 27 May and expressed satisfaction with the template for resolution of its internal crisis.

The LP has been plagued with a prolonged leadership crisis, which has forced many of its chieftains to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress and fuelled speculations that Mr Obi may abandon the party for another political platform—possibly a coalition being planned by Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former vice president, and others.

In April, the LP Deputy National Chairperson, Ayo Olorunfemi, appealed to Mr Obi to stay on and rebuild the party instead of returning to the PDP.

“Now that he has contested and seen the LP force, if he decides to go to another political party, it will speak volumes about his intention.

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“It will tell whether he truly believed in the ideology of the Labour Party before coming to run, or if he just wanted to use the opportunity of the platform.

“So, it will now be left for Nigerians to decide whether Obi, who got millions of votes under the Labour Party, can still be voted for under PDP or another party,” Mr Olorunfemi said.

“He (Obi) must use his tongue to count his teeth. If I were him, what I would be doing now is working to restore peace in the Labour Party and rebuild it.

“He should find a way to resolve the issues in the party and remain on the platform. He should remain in the party and restore peace. He should stay and resolve the crises he and others created in LP.

“Moving around will portray him as an opportunistic politician, not different from these politicians jumping here and there,” he said.