Dr. Odi: Resolution of the crisis could be achieved, but not through falsehood
The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi state, Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odi, has called for the peaceful resolution of the crisis rocking the state chapter of the party, describing it as self-inflicted, and also a product of weak leadership.
Dr. Odi said that the unity of party members in the state was essential if they hoped to retake power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming 2023 general elections.
Recall that during the rescheduled PDP primary elections in the state held on the 4th and 5th of June, Senator Obinna Ogba, who represents Ebonyi Central Senatorial zone in the upper legislative chamber, was declared winner of the PDP governorship ticket for the next general elections
Addressing journalists in Abakaliki the state capital on June 11, 2022, Senator Ogba, vowed to “protect the mandate given to me by the people.”
He added that no amount of intimidation or threat from any quarter would make him to either surrender or relinquish the mandate given to him by the party’s delegates during the rescheduled PDP primaries in the state.
However, Dr. Odi in a statement titled ‘The time for truth and reconciliation has come.’ and signed by the Director of Media & Publicity, AnyiChuks Campaign Organization, Chief Abia Onyike, states that it is needful to avail the people of Ebonyi of the “true situation of things so they can face the situation squarely, and take their destiny into their own hands.”
The statement made available to SummitNews reads: “I wish to refer to the Press Conference addressed yesterday, 11th June, 2022 by Senator Obinna Ogba, and to react as follows:
“The crisis rocking the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi state is a self-inflicted logjam which came about because of weak leadership.
“However, the crisis cannot persist without a resolution and the time to resolve it has come, if the party must rise to the occasion in the state as a liberation movement in the hands of Ebonyi people to rescue themselves from the atrocities of the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) government in the state.
“The resolution of the crisis could be achieved not through falsehood or the telling of blatant lies to the suffering people of Ebonyi. Our teeming members and the ordinary people on the streets need to be told the true situation of things so that they can face the situation squarely, and take their destiny into their own hands.
“The PDP Governorship Candidate today is Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odi. He won the Primary Election conducted by the PDP on 28th and 29th of May, 2022.
“The 3-man Delegates List used for the Primary Election was the outcome of the State PDP Congress of 7th May, 2022 which was eventually recognised by the PDP National Working Committee(NWC).
“That Primary Election was properly authorized by the PDP NWC, and was peacefully conducted with the INEC monitoring the exercise in line with the Electoral Guidelines and the 2022 Electoral Act. An attempt by the opposition to cancel the successfully conducted Primary Election suffered a set-back.
“The parallel Primaries conducted on the 4th and 5th of June, was an anti-democratic intervention by some powerful forces who were hell-bent on reversing the popular will of the people.
“The ruling of the Federal High Court in Abakaliki on 7th June, 2022 restoring the authenticity of the first Primaries which elected Dr. Odi was a historic confirmation of the democratic will of Ebonyi PDP cadres as against the dictatorship and imposition by a few godfathers.
“On the 10th of June, 2022, the National body of the Party obeyed the Court Order by forwarding the names of all the candidates elected during the legitimate Primaries of 28 and 29 June, 2022 to INEC and the processing of their forms have commenced.
“The PDP Governorship Candidate in the person of Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odi, is willing and ready to provide leadership and to reconcile the members of the party after the divisions arising from the internal power struggle.
“We appeal to the leaders and members of our great Party in the state to embrace the path of maturity and reconciliation at this moment to enable us focus on the common enemy as we gradually approach the 2023 general elections.
“We should quickly recover from the fall outs of the primary elections and close ranks in the interest of our people and the future of the state.”
