The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Imo State on Tuesday, fired back at proponents of a splinter group, N PDP.
According to a statement by Damian Opara, Publicity Secretary of the party, he said the PDP in the State is intact and “does not warrant any breakaway or splinter group as purported in certain sections of the media”
He said the party would not have bothered with a rejoinder, “but for their confession in the last paragraph of their write up that they were still members of Imo PDP, even as they noted that their grouse has to do with the outcome of the Imo State PDP gubernatorial primary election conducted by the party on October 1, 2018”
Part of the statement reads “For emphasis, while every member of our party has the right to seek clarification or redress, should he feel dissatisfied with the outcome of any exercise within our party, it is on record that our party conducted the freest and fairest and most credible primaries for various positions, especially the governorship primaries. We firmly stand by the validly elected governorship candidate of our party, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha CON and other candidates for various positions elected on the platform of our party and therefore urge members to bury their hatchet and join hands to deliver the party at the main polls.
“We are not unaware that, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who expressed dissatisfaction with the results of gubernatorial primary election, has since petitioned the court of law to seek redress.
“We would therefore not know on what premise the group would resort to their rather quite ignoble action that unarguably tends to subject our great party to public ridicule. It is more curious to note that the promoters of the failed distraction called n-PDP are known confidants and political allies of a governorship aspirant..
“It is worthy to note that besides Senator Samuel Anyanwu, other governorship aspirants have accepted the results of the transparent election and are presently in the forefront of our preparations for the forthcoming general elections.
“It is based on the foregoing that we are alerting the teeming members, supporters of our great party and the general public to disregard those elements and their misplaced threat against our party. Their action indeed, smacks of sheer display of treachery and mischief. Hence, we treat it as a failed distraction.
“We wish to use this opportunity to remind all party members that the supremacy of our great party remains sacrosanct and as such, we will not compromise the integrity of the leadership no matter the situation or challenge. And the party will not condone any attempt by any individual or group to truncate the prospects of our party ahead of the elections.
“Furthermore, the party has resolved at the one-day summit organized by the party for the 41 candidates and other stakeholders in the party on Saturday, November 24, 2018, to put behind it every issue pertaining to the primary elections conducted by the party.
“While we still regard the group as members of our great party, we advice them to reciprocate this peace gesture and retrace their steps or risk disciplinary action in line with the Constitution of our party.
“This is moreso when in the aforementioned candidates-stakeholders meeting, convened last Saturday, 24th November, 2018 by the leadership of our great party, a Reconciliation Committee with Senator Athan Achonu as Chairman and Prof. Jude Njoku as Co-Chairman was inaugurated to receive, review, and consider any grievances brought to their attention by any member of the party.
“We once again encourage any aggrieved member or group, to channel all their grievances to the Reconciliation Committee for appropriate consideration.
Opara said Imo PDP is rebranded and reformed, thus has no place for lawlessness, impunity and no longer accorded tolerance, urging the public ” to discountenance the purported n PDP as it is an illegal entity, unknown to our party Constitution and INEC”
