Despite claims by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State that the party was united and intact a parallel executive of the party has emerged.

The new parallel executive, which has pledged loyalty to Alhaji Modu Sheriff, said it acted to save Abia PDP from going into extinction.

Chief Chidi Nwosu, who spoke to News Express on the development in a telephone interview in Umuahia, Thursday, explained that aggrieved members have to take steps to salvage what was remaining of PDP in Abia due to inherent abnormalities.

Nwosu who maintained that he and members of the parallel executive, whose identities he did not disclose, were being hounded for paying a visit to Sheriff in Abuja, added that the party hierarchy was peeved by his description of the last state congress as a sham. He said that their action was legitimate and that he was free to express his opinion on issues affecting the party.

“We are running a parallel executive of the Abia PDP,” Nwosu confirmed, and went ahead to explain the birth of the parallel executive.

“First and foremost, the congress which I described as a sham was a major part of it and we felt that if the party is allowed to go the way it is going and with the inherent decampment of a lot of our members, our party is somewhat seen heading for extinction here and the essence of party politics will be defeated.

“You can recall what we suffered during the general election of 2015. And in the hands of such persons again, if this party is allowed to go on, you know that the party is almost going into oblivion.

“We don’t want that because we are concerned party members. We love our party, we want to remain in the party and we want to strengthen the party further,” Nwosu said.

Nwosu was reacting to a statement by the State Executive of Abia PDP headed by Chief Johnson Onuigbo which rose from an emergency meeting Tuesday with resolution that the committee had disowned Nwosu, Emeka Ejiogu and Chukwuemeka Osoagbaka for gross misconduct.

The resolutions of the emergency meeting contained in a seven-paragraph statement signed by 47 members of the state executive committee, made it clear that the Onuigbo-led executive was loyal to Senator Ahmed Markarfi-led national executive of the PDP and Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

“The state party executive committee condemns, in its entirety, the wanton, illegal and unacceptable recalcitrance of a group of political dissidents and rascals led by Messrs Chidi Nwosu of Umuahia South, Emeka Ejiogu of Umuahia North and Chukwuemeka Osogbaka of Ikwuano,” part of the resolution read. The committee also frowned at “their description of the democratically conducted State Congress of the Party held on 10^th May, 2016 as a sham,” stressing that their “utterance depicts irresponsibility, disloyalty and afterthought.”

“Their misdirected and illegal visit to the erstwhile National Chairman of PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is a further display of indiscipline, gross misconduct and disloyalty of extreme order.

“That the PDP in Abia State is united, intact and has no division whatsoever within its ranks and file,” the committee further resolved that “the democratically elected officers of the party as produced via the state congress of 10^th May, 2016 headed by Chief Johnson Onuigbo remains the only authentic executive committee in the state as a matter of fact and law.”

Political observers have expressed worry that the emergence of the parallel executive in Abia PDP would fuel the lingering political crises in the state.