PDP Throws Wike’s Men Out, Appoints S-South Leaders
Edith CHUKU
The 2025 zonal elective congress of the South South zone of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, has been held on Thursday, at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
At the congress, the party inaugurated it’s caretaker committee, led by Elder Emma Ogidi, as against what the FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, organized in Calabar, the Cross River State capital on February 22.
Addressing journalists after the event, the governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, who is the Chairman of the South-South Governors Forum noted that the party was bigger than any individual and that its internal challenges would be fixed once the members resolve to tackle them.
Diri explained that the political will to confront those fomenting trouble in the party resided with the members and not solely on the leadership, stressing that for the party to be competitive as the oldest in the country, it must look inwards and fix its internal issues.
He said, “for me, we have to look inwards before accusing those outside our party. We have to first fix our internal issues.
“It is very easy to point accusing fingers. But the PDP has to sit back and tackle its internal challenges. That is only when we can stand to compete with others.
“I want the PDP to be competitive with other political parties. We are the oldest political party in Nigeria. So we have no reason to be accusing outsiders.”
On whether the party’s leadership had the political will to discipline those fomenting trouble, the Bayelsa governor averred that such will resided with the members.
“We are all members of the party. The moment we all resolve that we need to fix our party, there cannot be any one person that is bigger than the party.”
He stressed that the newly inaugurated zonal caretaker committee had the mandate of the National Working Committee to look into every issue affecting the party in the South-South.
The Bayelsa helmsman expressed the hope that the event was a step forward for the party.
“In our zone, which is the only area in the country you have four governors of the party, we have all resolved and are together on this. You can see the deputy governor of Delta State, who represented the governor. I have also received messages from the governors of Akwa Ibom and Rivers. It shows that we are together and what we need to do is to show leadership and work with the zonal committee so that our zone will again become safe and strong for the PDP.”
