Can Imo PDP overcome deepening divisions, crisis?

In this report, CHIGOZIE UZOSIKE writes on the crisis that has rocked the Peoples Democratic Party in Imo State, following the controversial suspension of House of Representatives member, Ikenga Ugochinyere

Controversy has continued to trail the suspension and purported emergence of the member representing Ideato North/South Federal Constituency of Imo State, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere as state leader of the Imo PDP. The crisis in the party has resulted in division along the lines of those for and those against Ugochinyere. His expulsion was contained in a letter from the Ideato LGA chapter of PDP, dated December 5, 2024, and signed by the LGA Chairman, Hon. ThankGod Okeke, and the Secretary, Onyebuchi Umeh.

In the letter addressed to the state chairman of the party, the PDP said it expelled Ugochinyere over gross indiscipline, insubordination, and anti-party activities. The expulsion followed the report of the party’s disciplinary committee, dated November 27, 2024, which investigated misconduct charges against Ugochinyere in line with Section 57 (1-4) of the PDP Constitution 2017, as amended. The lawmaker was suspended at his Umuopia/Umukegwu ward on October 14, 2024, after failing to honour an invitation to appear before the ward Executive Committee on October 5, 2024, to answer allegations of disciplinary offences, and ignoring reminders and further invitations sent to him on October 7, 2024.

The letter partly read: “Upon receipt of the report, the LGA Executive Committee of Ideato North met on December 5, 2024, and unanimously adopted the report of the disciplinary committee. In light of this, Hon. Imo Ugochinyere Ikeagwonu is hereby expelled from the party (PDP) with immediate effect, and he ceases to be a member of the Peoples Democratic Party in Umuopia/Umukegwu ward of Ideato North LGA.”

The PDP said it found Ugochinyere guilty of deliberate failure to attend meetings and participate in activities of the party for a long time, in breach of Section 58 (1)(e) of the PDP constitution 2017, as amended. He was also said to have engaged in unauthorized publicity of disputes within the party, which contravenes Section 58(1)(i) of the party’s constitution. Additionally, he was alleged to have formed parallel executive and organs of the party in his ward, at the LGA, and at the national levels, which breaches the party’s constitution.

In addition, the lawmaker was found guilty of consistently making derogatory and provocative public statements against the party and some of its national leaders, an action that brought the party to public ridicule.

Ugochinyere’s suspension, last month, came not long after Ugochinyere made strong assertions about the party while having a constituency briefing in his home town. At the meeting, he took the national leadership of the party, led by Iliya Damagum to the cleaners, claiming he was allowing the APC to destroy the party. Ugochinyere claimed that there were traitors in the PDP dining with the APC to destroy the opposition.

The lawmaker said, “We have noticed that some party members are working secretly to weaken the structure of the party. We cannot allow those who feel that the party is going to die before 2027 to destroy the chance of the party taking over from APC. We are coming with a strong merger that will collapse the ruling party, and when that happens, the leadership that has brought untold hardship will be ended.”

Ugochinyere cautioned those playing childish and kindergarten politics. “I am calling on the stakeholders of the party to warn those playing with the future of the party. PDP remains the largest party in Africa and the role we play as opposition cannot be diminished.”

He urged the members of the party across all levels to remain resolute and resilient in protecting the ideology of the party. “Do not allow the little setback in the party to deter you from throwing away your membership of the party. I blame some of the PDP governors and leaders who are not able to stop this childish, kindergarten politics – it’s a child’s play.”

Not long after the suspension announcement, some camps dismissed reports that Ugochinyere had been suspended from the party.

A member of the camp of the federal lawmaker, who said he is the leader of the forum of chairmen of PDP in the state, Barr. Uche Alisieigwe dismissed reports that Ugochinyere had been expelled from the party.

Alisieigwe said, “The report was a mischievous and disingenuous attempt to undermine Ugochinyere’s standing within the PDP, hence the general public should ignore and jettison the same.

“In an emergency meeting held in Owerri, the forum however recognized Ugochinyere’s leadership potential by nominating him as the State Leader of the PDP. He has remained the strongest voice of the party.”

In a statement signed on their behalf by the Coordinating Chairman of the 27 Imo PDP LGA Chairmen forum, Barr. Uche Alisieigwe, the leaders urged stakeholders in the state to rally around the lawmaker in the battle of rescuing the umbrella party from imminent collapse both at the state and national level.

The PDP leaders who passed a vote of confidence on Ugochinyere also insisted that the party’s acting national chairman, Umar Damagun, and national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, should be immediately removed to pave the way for reinvigoration of the main opposition party.

The statement read, “We the leaders of PDP in Imo state after wide consultations and deep reflection on the state of our party in the state and the country, resolved to appoint the member representing Ideato North/South Federal Constituency of Imo State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Barr Ikenga Ugochinyere, as our leader.

“This is based on his antecedents, sterling leadership qualities and commitment to the protection and promotion of the ethos of our party over the years. Judging from his ingenuity, we are confident in his ability to be the rallying point of PDP in Imo state for the party to rebound ahead of future polls.

“We, therefore, urged stakeholders in the party to rally around him and give him all the support needed to succeed in the task of rebuilding our party into a virile force to be reckoned with not just for electoral purposes but in the promotion of democratic ideals which our party stands espouses.

“While passing a vote of confidence on Hon. Barr Ikenga Ugochinyere as our leader, we insist that the acting national chairman of PDP, Umar Damagun and national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu should be removed without further delay hence their continuous stay in office even illegally doing more harm than good to our party as we prepared to take over government in 2027.”

But, the 27 Imo PDP LGA chairmen, who said they were the authentic chairmen, dissociated themselves from Ugochinyere’s purported appointment as State leader. The party chairmen after an emergency meeting, held in Owerri, led by Emeka Alihie, wondered how “they could have appointed anyone as the leader of the party in the State when the party’s constitution does not empower them to do so, declaring that leadership is earned and not bought.”

A communiqué of the meeting signed by the party’s publicity secretary, Lancelot Obiaku, added that the forum endorsed Ugochinyere’s expulsion from the party for gross indiscipline. The communiqué read, “This emergency meeting is premised on the purported crowning of Hon. Ugochinyere Imo and member representing the good people of Ideato Federal constituency at the Green chambers of the Federal House of Representative as the leader of our great party in Imo State as circulated over the media.

“Based on this worthless and deceitful media circulation, signed off by a faceless impostor with the name, Barr. Uche Alisieigwe, who claimed to be the Chairman of the forum of all LGA Chairmen in Imo State, we hereby resolve and state that the faceless impostor Barr. Uche Alisieigwe is not in our records across the State as either a ward, LGA, Zonal or State executive member of our party. That, as a prerequisite, one must be a Local Government Area Chairman of our party before one can be elected to become the chairman of the forum of all Chairmen.

“That the so-called faceless impostor, Barr. Uche Alisieigwe could not identify which of the LGAs in Imo he chairs to become the chairman of all Chairmen in the Imo State PDP. We, therefore, warn this so-called Uche Alisiigwe and his co-travellers to forthwith desist from impersonating the officers of our great party with false and malicious information with fake letterhead document of the party because investigations have shown that such a name is one of the names deployed by Ugochinyere to cause disharmony within the Imo PDP and beyond. We, therefore, call on the leadership of our great party in Imo state to commence criminal proceedings against this so-called faceless Uche Alisieigwe.

“Let it also be stated that going by the constitutional provisions of our great party, it is not the forum of the LGA Chairmen that is responsible for electing who becomes the leader of the party as erroneously stated by the faceless and shameless Uche Alisieigwe. Leadership is earned and not bought.”

However, the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party rejected the expulsion of Ikenga Ugochinyere, from the party by the Umuopia/Umukegwu ward chapter of the party in Imo State. In a statement on December 7, the PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, declared the alleged expulsion null and void, stating that it was inconsistent with the clear provisions of Sections 57(7) and 59(3) of the PDP Constitution (as amended).

However, Ologunagba stated that Ugochinyere’s purported expulsion was null and void and did not follow the rules laid down by the party.

The statement read in part, “The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to the purported expulsion of Hon. Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu from the party by the Umuopia/Umukegwu ward chapter of the PDP in Imo State.

“The NWC declares the said purported expulsion as null and void and of no effect, not being consistent with the express provision of Sections 57 (7) and 59 (3) of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017) and laid down Rules of our great party.

“Section 57 (7) of the Constitution of the PDP is clear in providing that: Notwithstanding any other provision relating to discipline, no Executive Committee at any level, except the National Executive Committee, shall entertain any question of discipline as may relate or concern a member of the National Executive Committee, Deputy Governors or members of the National Assembly.

“Also, Section 59 (3) of the Constitution of the PDP is unambiguous in providing that “Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution relating to discipline, no Executive Committee at any level except the National Executive Committee shall entertain any question of discipline as may relate or concern a member of the National Executive Committee, President, Vice President, Governors, Deputy Governors, Ministers, Ambassadors, Special Advisers or member of any of the Legislative Houses.”

The PDP Publicity Secretary emphasised that no ward, local government, or state chapter of the party has the authority to suspend, expel, or discipline a National Assembly member in any way without following the proper procedures set by the party’s Constitution, which requires consultation with the NWC.

It added, “The NWC strongly cautions that the PDP is an organized political Party governed by strict adherence to the provisions of its Constitution and Rules and will not allow any individual or group at any level to violate its Constitution and Rules under any circumstances whatsoever.

“The NWC states that Hon. Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu remains a bona-fide member of the PDP with all rights, privileges, recognition, obligations and charges all leaders, critical stakeholders, members and supporters of our Party in Imo State and the nation to disregard the purported expulsion.

“The NWC calls on all party members in Imo State to remain united and continue to work together in the overall interest of our party and the people.”

Concerned stakeholders have continued to wonder when the crisis over the suspension of Ugochinyere or otherwise, which tears the party apart, will come to an end. For the APC, the division in the Imo PDP is prayers answered. “PDP destruction is a prayer answered. We will not waste our time talking about a party wallowing in self-destruction. We need to talk about something more serious,” Publicity of APC in Imo State, Cajethan Duke said.