The internal battle for control within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a dramatic turn, with the party’s leadership setting up a South-South caretaker committee.
This is a move widely seen as a direct challenge to the influence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
In a statement released on Friday by PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) announced the formation of the caretaker committee to prevent a leadership vacuum in the South-South zone after the expiration of the current zonal executive’s tenure on March 9, 2025.
But this decision hasn’t come without controversy. A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt had earlier restrained the PDP and the South-South National Vice Chairman, Dan Orbih, from holding a zonal congress. The lawsuit, filed by PDP members Tonu Ejiogu and Field Nkor, temporarily halted the process or so it seemed.
In defiance of the court ruling, the party went ahead with the zonal congress in Calabar, Cross River State. Wike, who attended and fully supported the event, declared the South-South as the PDP’s strongest base and insisted no other congress would take place in the region.
Despite the legal heat, the chairman of the electoral committee, Vita Abba, announced that Dan Orbih emerged victorious in the election with 174 votes. This was an outcome Wike defended, insisting the congress was both legitimate and binding.
However, the PDP’s NWC, led by acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, was unmoved. In a bold counter-move, the NWC appointed Emma Ogidi as Chairman of the newly formed South-South caretaker committee. The committee also includes Chief Damiete Herbert-Miller as Secretary and five other members: Nicholas Ayuwa, Godwin Akpan Udonta, Bekewei Ashanti, Idehen Ebomoyim, and Dame Vivian Ahanmisi.
“The decision of the NWC is predicated on the need to avoid any vacuum and ensure the smooth running of the affairs of the party in the South-South Zone at the expiration of the tenure of the current zonal executive on March 9, 2025,” the statement read.
The committee’s mandate is clear: manage the party’s affairs in the zone for three months or until a new zonal executive is elected, in line with the PDP constitution.
With Wike standing firm behind Orbih and the NWC pushing forward with its caretaker committee, the PDP’s South-South zone remains a battleground and the nation watches closely as the power struggle unfolds.
Source: Ripples