A major crisis is brewing within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as federal lawmakers from the South East have vowed to boycott the party’s forthcoming national convention if the position of National Woman Leader, originally zoned to the region, is diverted elsewhere.
The lawmakers, led by Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, accused Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of plotting to move the Woman Leader slot from the South East to the South South, in violation of the PDP’s agreed zoning arrangement.
Speaking with journalists on Friday, Ugochinyere declared that no elected lawmaker from the South East would remain in the PDP if the alleged injustice is not reversed before the convention.
“We will issue a disclaimer against the convention in two weeks and will not participate if Imo State and the South East are humiliated by those who want to rubbish an entire region,” he warned. “No elected lawmaker from the South East will remain in the PDP if this impending insult is allowed to happen.”
According to him, the position of National Woman Leader had been duly zoned to the South East, with Mrs. Ifeyinwa Arodiogbu — the current South East Zonal Woman Leader — positioned to emerge as the consensus candidate.
However, the arrangement was disrupted when Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, now a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), allegedly nominated an Enugu candidate for the role. With Mbah’s defection and his nominee’s exit from the PDP, lawmakers say the position should revert to Imo State.
Ugochinyere, however, alleged that Governor Makinde is attempting to transfer the slot to the South South, describing the move as “provocative and disrespectful” to the South East.
“Now that Governor Mbah has left for the APC, that earlier arrangement no longer stands,” he said. “This is the time to correct that injustice. But confirmed reports suggest that some individuals, particularly Governor Makinde, want to move the position out of the South East. That would be an open provocation.”
The lawmakers warned that the PDP risks another major internal crisis if the issue is not resolved quickly, insisting that the convention could suffer a boycott and further deepen divisions within the party.
They appealed to Governors Makinde and Ademola Adeleke to use their influence as southern PDP leaders to resolve the matter before the convention scheduled to hold in Ibadan.
