•••2021 GUBER CANDIDATE , VAL OZIGBO, OTHERS RESIGN
By Kamsi Anayo
Strong indications have emerged that mass resignation has hit the Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as a fallout of the recent resignation of former governor, Mr Peter Obi from the party.
Obi, a presidential aspirant had on Wednesday resigned his membership of the PDP and also withdrew from the party’s presidential primary.
Obi had cited unspecified happenings in the processes leading to the party’s presidential primary election as reason for his resignation.
But the Network reported that PDP Leaders made it clear to him that the party’s candidate must come from the North.
The party leadership offered Obi to contest as running mate to a candidate from the North which left Obi with no other option than to pull out of the PDP.
His action was said to have dampened the zeal and aspiration of some of the party’s aspirants to national and state assembly.
It is widely believed that Obi’s popularity in the state has a way of affecting other aspirants of his party positively.
Mr Valentine Ozigbo, PDP’s governorship candidate in the November 2021 governorship election in Anambra, Hon Valentine Ayika and Hon George Ozodinobi, former members of national assembly have resigned from the party too.
Ozigbo in a letter which was addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, stated that the party has been highjacked by three Senatorial aspirants and their cohorts.
He listed the aspirants to include; Sen. Uche Ekwunife, Sen. Stella Oduah and self-styled godfather of Anambra politics, Chief Chris Uba, who is also running for Senate.
In the letter sighted by our correspondent, Ozigbo said: “I wish to bring to your attention a series of retrogressive developments inour great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State particularly in Anambra South.
“Sir, I would like to state this clearly. The actions of Chris Uba and LinusUkachukwu, with the support of Uche Ekwunife, and Stella Oduah, and a few others are the reasons PDP in Anambra may end up fielding no candidate in the 2023 elections.”
Consequently, he announced his resignation from the party and withdrawal from the primary.
Ayika and Ozodinobi who are also National Assembly aspirants also withdrew from the primary, while also resigning from the party.
A source within Anambra PDP however said that more prominent politicians in the state will still dump PDP in the coming days.
The source said it was in anger that Peter Obi left the party, as Uba and others were working to humiliate him in the state, even as he battled his fellow presidential aspirants.
“More people will leave before the end of this week. It is true that PDP in Nigeria has problem, but the problem of Anambra PDP is far more than that of the national. It is still the reason they have not held primary election for any position, till today.
“The plot is for the Obi supporters to move en mass, and join Labour Party, from where they will give PDP a fight,” the source said.”