Edo PDP Crisis: Gov Obaseki, SWC Members Fight Dirty 

BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – Amid internal rumblings that are refusing to go away, things are no longer at ease in the Edo State chapter of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

There are strong indications that Governor Godwin Obaseki and his supporters are pushing to remove from office the State party Chairman, Dr Tony Aziegbemi and other members of the State Working Committee (SWC) for not ‘accommodating’ some interest groups within the party

Insiders said the latest cause of friction centres on Aziegbemi-led SWC’s decision to report Obaseki, his deputy, Philip Shuaibu, and the Secretary to Edo State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

According to the sources, Aziegbemi and his team approached the Prince Uche Secondus-led leadership with complaints and clear evidence buttressing that Obaseki has been running the administration without any inputs or consultations PDP leaders in the State.

This position reportedly brewed anger among Obaseki’s supporters, particularly those who defected to the PDP with him from the All Progressives Congress (APC) on June 19, 2020.

Unsurprisingly, the first casualty consumed by the feud became the Edo South Senatorial District Chairman, Nosa Ogieva, who was removed from office by members of the PDP faction loyal to the governor with allegations of anti-party activities leveled against him.

Moving ahead with their plot, the factional members, mostly former APC stalwarts, were said to have massed themselves among politicians that featured prominently in the “Edo South Senatorial District Stakeholders’ meeting,” where they pointedly accused Ogieva of deliberately refusing to recognise Wilson Evbuomwan as the Edo South Secretary of PDP.

Evbuomwan, who read the welcome address at the meeting, gave kudos to Governor Obaseki for his developmental strides and commitment towards uniting the party in the state.

While commending those he described as “the true friends” of PDP, Evbuomwan also rebuked “the real enemies” of the governing party (PDP) in Edo South Senatorial District and counseled the unnamed “enemies” to desist from activities that were frustrating the integration of all PDP members in the state.

He said despite having in put place a harmonisation committee, under the chairmanship of Senator Mathew Uroghide, at the stakeholders’ meeting held on April 18, 2021, there seems to be no forward movement in bringing together all contending parties.

According to him; “Sadly, more than one month after the composition of the committee, aimed at ensuring the unity of all PDP members, no effort was made by members of the committee to pursue its agenda. The committee was frustrated by Nosa Ogieva, the Edo South Senatorial Chairman of PDP.”

However, Edo State Publicity Secretary of PDP, Chris Nehikhare, told the Nation newspaper on telephone Friday evening that members of the Party’s SWC were unaware of the meeting as well as the news conference.

Insiders disclosed that unable to keep mute over the crisis that is tearing apart the state ruling party, the Aziegbemi-led SWC reported Governor Obaseki to the PDP hierarchy in Abuja, accusing him of pursuing a selfish agenda with plans to dissolve the party’s executives at the ward, local government and state levels, to accommodate his troops of APC defectors.

In their petition, the embattled SWC members described the governor’s move as “undemocratic and unacceptable”, warning of the possible consequences if the action is carried through.Events surprisingly took a different turn when Obaseki met with the SWC members at Government House in Benin recently.

Though the governor is said to have pleaded with them to sheathe their swords and partner with him to move the party and Edo state forward, some stakeholders have cautioned that Governor Obaseki should not be trusted wholly despite his perceived hand of fellowship extended to the SWC members.

Ahead of the September 19, 2020 gubernatorial election in the South South state, Governor Obaseki has crossed over to PDP in search of a platform to contest the poll having been barred from participating in the primaries of the then ruling APC.

But less than one year after returning to the Osadebe House, there seems to rising tensions between the governor and the old structures in PDP over moves to accommodate his APC loyalists within existing party structures in the state – With The Nation report