The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has announced plans to take legal action against Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, former Vice Presidential candidate Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and the entire Delta PDP structure following their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking to journalists after the PDP’s first National Working Committee (NWC) meeting of the year, Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, said the party is fully prepared to go to court.
“We are taking this matter up legally to reclaim our mandate,” he stated, stressing that those who defected were originally elected under the PDP platform.
Damagum said the party’s National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, has been directed to begin legal proceedings against the defectors.
The party has also appointed Emma Ogidi, South-South Caretaker Chairman, to immediately assume control of PDP affairs in Delta State. Ogidi has been tasked with identifying fresh leadership for the state chapter. The zonal committee was directed to proceed to Delta State to assess the party’s assets and begin the process of recovering them.
This decision comes after the surprise defection on April 23, of Okowa, Oborevwori, Delta’s Deputy Governor Monday Onyeme, all state commissioners, local government chairmen, and other key grassroots actors to the APC. The defection followed a closed-door meeting in Asaba.
Meanwhile, the PDP has scheduled a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting for May 27 to further address the unfolding situation and strategize on the way forward.
Regarding the position of the National Secretary, Damagum stated that the National Working Committee (NWC) reviewed the recommendations from PDP state governors and agreed to forward the matter to the National Executive Committee (NEC) for a final decision.
It is time political parties in their various states stop the handling over of their political structure to States governor. They are nothing but political harlots without shame that cannot be trusted with power.
Emma Ogidi is a tested hand who has been a PDP stalwart since the beginning of this political dispensation. He has the wherewithal to build a new PDP structure that will take the party to new heights in 2027.