A big storm is gathering in Abia State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the return of immediate past governor of the state, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, to the fold.

News Express gathered that Kalu was re-admitted into PDP at his Igbere home town last Thursday by executives of Igbere Ward A who issued him with PDP membership Card bearing the Serial Number 9787945.

Kalu’s return to PDP was said to have been witnessed by some of the party’s big wigs who flew in from Abuja.

But in a swift reaction, officials of Abia PDP denied knowledge of such a development, describing it as “flying rumours” and a charade. They described as fake, Kalu’s purported registration number, saying that Serial Numbers of the PDP Membership cards issued to Igbere Ward A begin with 95, not 97.

At a joint news briefing at the party secretariat in the state capital, Umuahia, yesterday, the state Chairman of PDP, Senator Emma Nwaka, and Bende Local Government PDP chairman, Chief Ihendu Igwe, told newsmen that the entire executives of Igbere Ward A and B resigned en masse on January 10 this year and were not in a position to admit any person into the party.

The duo displayed two registers and membership cards they said were those of the two wards voluntarily returned by the former ward executives.

Igwe said: “What you heard is not true. Orji Uzor has not registered in Bende PDP. First and foremost, I have two Ward executives that have resigned from PDP on 10^th of this month. Before resigning, they returned their (Wards) registers to me on that day, telling me that they have resigned from PDP Igbere Wards A and B and I accepted their resignation.

“It is unfortunate that yesterday, I overheard people saying that Orji Uzor has registered in his ward. So, I am making it clear and plain this morning that if they gave him any card there, know you that those that gave out those cards are not from PDP. They are fake because the executives of the two wards in Igbere have resigned from PDP.”

In his contribution, Nwaka said: “In so far as PDP Abia State is concerned, this is a distraction from justifying the mandate given to the party by the people. We decided to clear the air to make the point that PDP Abia State is intact and together. Our major concern now is to deliver democracy dividends to our people.

“We believe in freedom of association. But we also believe that a group can for whatever reason decide what to do. Freedom of association is not imposition. What we are practicing is democracy and it is a game of numbers. So if we are five in a room and somebody wants to come in and four of us say no, for Christ’s sake, that should be respected and that is democracy.”

Nwaka advised Kalu “to come in through the right way.”

News Express reports that since moves by Kalu to return to PDP after leaving the party in 2007 to form the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), well known PDP figures from Abia have been making attempts to block the former governor’s comeback bid to the party following his estrangement from his successor, Governor Theodore Orji.

•Photo: Orji Kalu.

Update news