June 23 (Newshour.com.ng) – The Imo PDP Critical Stakeholders have urged the National Working Committee of the party to save the state chapter of the party from self destruction. Recently, Imo PDP has embroiled in unabated crisis leading to mass exodus of members to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC
In a statement captioned. “PDP NWC must rescue Imo PDP from self destruct”, signed by Signed: Comrade Kenneth Chukwuemeka Akunnakwe For & on behalf of the Imo State PDP Critical Stakeholders and made available to newsmen, the group appealed to the national leadership to intervene.
See the Press Release below
Press Release
PDP NWC must rescue Imo PDP from self destruct
The members of Imo State PDP Critical Stakeholders have received with rude shock, the trending illegality whereupon the Financial Secretary of the Imo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP,) Barr Bedewell Ejimadu, without any recourse to the party’s statutes or hierarchy illegally engaged in an unauthorized press briefing.
In the purported press briefing Ejimadu employed the full weight and name of Imo PDP, and made several reckless and unsubstantiated allegations that border on calumny and sedition.
To start with, the pecking order of Imo PDP places the position of the financial secretary, currently occupied by Mr Ejimadu, as the 15th in order of authority. The prescribed order is that when the publicity secretary’s office is vacant, the assistant publicity secretary would be directed by the State Chairman to act.This expressly demonstrates that Ejimadu had no business whatsoever being involved in the sordid “press briefing”. It was an outright contravention of party leadership structure and conventional practice. Mr Ejimadu grossly undermined the authority of the chapter.
That Mr Ejimadu did not consult the Imo hierarchy of the party underlines his political naivety and administrative rascality.
In the vexatious press briefing, Mr Ejimadu falsely claimed that some agents of PDP who were recruited and forwarded to INEC by the former deputy chairman, Sir Martin Ejiogu, and Nze Ray Emeana, the state secretary for the presidential and national assembly elections in some areas were APC members.
This is not only a lazy approach to an otherwise sensitive party matter, but a malicious affront to all efforts aimed at leading PDP to election victory in the last elections. If Ejimadu was sure of the charges against the erstwhile executive members of Imo PDP as he alleged why did he wait until they had taken flight from the party to bring the charges against them?.
Mr Ejimadu while unsuccessfully attempting to incriminate others ended up indicting himself. He thus substantially established that he lacks the competence to be the financial secretary of Imo PDP. Read him: “Also, it is regrettable to state that, as the Financial Secretary of the party in the state, I have no records of the financial dealings of the party. All proceeds from the sale of nomination forms, sale of party cards, annual dues, levies and donations running into N600m in the last three years are only known to the state secetary, Deputy Chairman and treasurer,who are among these decampees (sic).
“The party in the state received over N1.4billion Naira from donations and candidates contributions for the last Presidential and National Assembly elections; these monies were appropriated by Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Nze Ray Emeana and Martin Ejiogu without the input or knowledge of the committee on finance of the presidential campaign council which I was the secretary”.
Nothing dramatizes Ejimadu’s absolute cluelessness and gross irresponsibility as the financial secretary of Imo PDP than his above declarations. Ejimadu has publicly affirmed that he knew how the finances of the party were disbursed but cared less to take charge. For this, he deserves nothing but serious sanctions for his many infractions. Need anyone be surprised about Ejimadu’s wild allegations. He has severally alleged falsehoods that on one occasion earned him several suspension from the SWC. It took the intervention Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha to bring him back to his job. Ingratitude, Shakespeare writes, is the worst sin in man.
For the purposes of this conversation and in order to put issues in their proper perspective, let us graphically and elaborately inform our failure – ridden financial secretary what really transpired. The funds that came the way of the party were openly disbursed by the finance committee to our various candidates who contested in various levels of the 2023 general elections. The candidates are still alive and can confirm this if called upon to do so.
Again, in the worst bizarre falsehood ever contrived in Imo State’s political history, Ejimadu threw caution to the winds and denied the Senator Samuel Anyanwu’s catalogue of failures as the candidate of the party in the November 11, 2023 governorship election.
One indubitable fact remains that Senator Anyanwu has notoriously refused to carry the party along since he emerged the PDP governorship candidate. The party’s secretariat rent has long expired. The party was on the verge of being kicked out of its office when Senator Anyanwu, managed to pay the rent? As you read this, the worker’s salaries have yet to be paid and there are threats of termination of appointments of staff and/or salary cuts.
The seven State SWC members that resigned and joined the APC blamed their exit on the uninspiring leadership provided by the candidate on his own election. Indeed, there is this centrifugal force and elements around the person of the PDP national secretary that scare people, particularly PDP members, away from him. If not, how can one explain that the party has witnessed the worst exodus of its members since Anyanwu emerged its candidate.
As a man who cannot distinguish between morality and constitutionalism, Ejimadu carelessly brought issues of other states that do not share common political culture with Imo to rationalize the morally questionable act of Senator Anyanwu’s dual capacities as the national secretary of PDP and the party’s governorship candidate in Imo State.
That a criminal went scot free after his inhuman activities does not justify his evil action. Therefore, Senator Anyanwu’s grandstanding as he holds these two positions at the national as well as at the state levels, doesn’t make it jusifiable. He has a moral obligation to either continue in his exalted position as the national secretary of PDP or forgo his nomination as the candidate of the party in the next gubernatorial elections in Imo State.
As it is, Ejimadu who parades himself as a lawyer, should get abreast with the provisions of the PDP constitution and understand its organogram. In the meantime we urge the NWC to bring down its disciplinary hammer on erring remaing members of the Imo PDP SWC. At the same time, the NWC must redeem Imo PDP from itself before it self destructs.
Signed: Comrade Kenneth Chukwuemeka Akunnakwe
For & on behalf of the Imo State PDP Critical Stakeholders.
June 22, 2023.
