By CHARLES IWUOHA

The National Vice Chairman, Peoples Democratic party (PDP), South East Zone, Hon. Goodluck Chidiebere Egwu, has stated that no congress of the party was conducted at the Ward, Local Government, or State levels.

Disclosing this in a statement on Friday, his media aide, Hon Prince Ify Chikioke, declared that "the names being circulated as “executives” are products of a staged charade and carry no legitimacy whatsoever."

"The Office of the National Vice Chairman, PDP South East Zone, Hon. Goodluck Chidiebere Egwu, has been alerted on the false reports circulating in some media claiming that a PDP congress was conducted in Ebonyi State and that executives were elected.

"We state categorically that no lawful PDP congress was conducted in Ebonyi State at Ward, Local Government, or State level."

He described what transpired as "an illegal, stage-managed event orchestrated by APC-sponsored agents allegedly led by the Governor of Enugu State, Barr. Peter Mbah, in connivance with the disgraced Chief Ali Odefa."

According to him, It is on record that Ali Odefa had been suspended by his ward and subsequently expelled from the Party, a position upheld by competent courts as he is no longer a PDP member, and any activities linked to him are null and void.

The statement reads in part: "The actions of Ali Odefa and Peter Mbah, are acts of desperate men who are bent on hijacking the Party's structure(s) in the South East, and lord on everyone without following due process and party's guidelines; we promise them that we won't let that happen, for they will be vehemently resisted.

"By PDP procedure, the National Working Committee (NWC) was to hand congress forms to the zonal leadership namely the Organising Secretary and the Legal Adviser who would serve as Chairman and Secretary of the exercise. In a desperate bid to subvert due process, Governor Peter Mbah and Ali Odefa ambushed the NWC, and hijacked the forms. At that time, Ebonyi PDP had no executives in place.

"The matter became known when some PDP members decided to purchase forms only to be frustrated because Peter Mbah and Chief Ali Odefa had already outsmarted everyone. In a bid to redeem the Party's image, and not to allow few overwhelm it, PDP in Ebonyi and Party loyalists promptly took the matter to court to seek for a redress.

"On Monday, 11th December 2024, the Federal High Court in Abakaliki, presided over by Hon. Justice Hillary I.O. Oshomah, in Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/183/2024, categorically restrained the PDP (1st defendant) from holding any congress in Ebonyi, and equally barred INEC (2nd defendant) from monitoring such an exercise. The ruling was clear: the proposed congress lacked due process and was riddled with irregularities engineered by Odefa, Mbah, and their APC sponsors.

"INEC, in its wisdom, obeyed the order and rightly refused to monitor or supervise the charade. Importantly, this judgment has not been appealed, neither has it been set aside by any higher court, which makes it valid and binding in law.

"We are also letting the public to know that any congress can only scale through if the NWC ratifies and presents it before NEC (National Executive Council) but in this case, it wasn't. And after that, the Chairman and the National Secretary will be the one to write to INEC, that the congress that they even monitored was valid, and in line with the Party's guidelines; but in this case, it wasn't.

"The NWC, knowing that what happened the last time "was a joke," has now confirmed that fresh congresses for Ebonyi and Anambra States from Ward through Local Government to State level, will be scheduled in due course. For a date will soon be announced. This press release is pertinent because we don't want the public to be deceived by APC members putting in PDP garb like the former PDP member, Chief Ali Odefa, and Governor Mbah of Enugu State.

"We therefore call on all genuine PDP members and loyalists across Ebonyi State, the South East, and Nigeria at large to remain calm, resolute, and committed. No amount of blackmail, lies, or APC-sponsored propaganda will derail our mission to reposition the PDP and reclaim Ebonyi State in 2027.

"Hon. Egwu thanks the NWC, the National Chairman Ambassador Umar Damagun, the National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the Chairman of the PDP Reconciliation Committee Senator Bukola Saraki, the BOT members, and other PDP leaders for their steadfast leadership in safeguarding the integrity of the party, and by not allowing fifth columnists to destroy the party.

"The PDP remains strong, indivisible, and on course. Ebonyi and the South East will rise again."