A fresh rift has emerged within the Nigeria Democratic Congress as Peter Obi ally, Morris Monye, and the party’s spokesperson, Theo Agada, clashed publicly over the controversy surrounding Monye’s alleged removal as the party’s House of Representatives candidate in Delta State.

The disagreement followed a series of posts by Monye over the weekend in which he alleged that political heavyweights who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress influenced the substitution of his candidacy in Delta North.

According to Monye on Saturday, reports of his replacement emerged shortly after the entry of the defectors into the party, with the justification that he had lost the primary election.

He claimed he immediately briefed Obi about the development, saying the party presidential candidate expressed concern over the situation and advised him against allowing the dispute to distract from the party’s broader presidential ambition.

“When news of this substitution started filtering in due to entrants of newly defected APC strongmen in Delta State, I had to run to H.E. Peter Obi late at night to brief him on what was going on.

“The narrative from the new entrants was that I lost the primaries to justify the substitution. The returning officer wrote a result to favour the said person. I just assumed the right thing was done.

“After much deliberation on the way forward and fatherly counsel from PO in the presence of Dr. Tanko, Dr. Mo, Mama Pee, Peter Akah, Esther, Ibrahim and others, I decided not to pursue my own election matter any longer out of respect for our Principal, H.E. Peter Obi, and the journey ahead,” Monye wrote.

He stressed that he was not desperate for political office but remained committed to Obi’s presidential ambition.

“I am not desperate to answer ‘Honourable’ but I’m desperate to see a Nigeria that works for me, you and all our loved ones. Nigeria must work in my lifetime.”

On Sunday, Monye further alleged that new entrants from the APC were favoured over longstanding members of the party.

He rejected claims that the newcomers possessed greater financial strength than original Obidients, insisting he had invested heavily in building the NDC in his constituency.

“I’ve made significant contributions to the NDC on my own volition to ensure the party is great in my constituency. The Delta State NDC Secretary is aware of these contributions. Deacon Ken Pela is aware of these contributions. They are even with receipts.

“During screening they kept asking me if I was running for Senate because no one else did the things I did. I replied it’s because I want the party of PO to be big in my area.

“I also donated a secretariat to the party in my constituency. You can’t join the party a few days to the primaries and, because of the reputation of being in APC, say you have a bigger war chest. The whole shenanigans happened because the godfather brought his boys from APC to fill in roles,” he alleged.

Responding on Sunday, Agada denied that the national leadership played any role in Monye’s alleged removal, maintaining that candidate selection was determined at the state level.

“On Morris Monye – the national leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress has no hand in the removal of his name from the list.

“Whatever issue he is having, he should take it up with his local leaders at the grassroots level. The national leadership devolved power to local stakeholders, and they are the ones calling the shots.

“Morris knows the people responsible for his ordeal, but he would not want to call them out for fear of being cancelled.

“The governorship candidate, who happens to be a core Obidient, Prof. Pat Utomi, and Victor Ochei are the local leaders who decide who gets what. It is what the state leaders submit to the national leadership that is uploaded on the INEC portal,” Agada stated.

The spokesperson also dismissed Monye’s suggestion that financial influence determined the outcome of the primaries.

“Is it because of his war chest that Peter for Nigeria, who won the primary and is flying the party’s flag in Cross River, got the ticket?

“If the NDC was after money or for moneybags, it could have easily asked the thousands of people who indicated interest in contesting on the party’s platform to buy both the Expression of Interest form and the nomination form, as many other parties did.

“But the party decided to sell only the Expression of Interest form to aspirants. It is only successful aspirants who won primaries that are paying for the nomination form. No political party did this. Many of you are so loud and ignorant,” he wrote.

Agada further accused critics of spreading false narratives against the party and its national leadership, suggesting that the full details of the Delta controversy had not yet been made public.

“Over the past few days, I have seen so many false narratives making the rounds in the media against the party and the national leader.

“If I were to give a detailed account of what happened, this platform would burn,” he added.

The dispute later escalated on Monday after Monye declared that Agada was unfit to serve as the party’s spokesperson.

“It is unfortunate that Theo Agada does not know his job as Spokesperson for the NDC Party. It’s a truly unfortunate realization for me,” Monye wrote on his X handle. (The PUNCH)

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