Ebonyi still PDP state, youths claim

Concerned Youth Group in Ebonyi State has maintained that the state remains Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state.

According to them, Governor David Umahi’s defection to the All Progressive Congress (APC) did not affect the party position in the state as eight out of nine National Assembly members and members of the state House of Assembly are still in PDP.

The group made this known in a communique signed by 13 youths representing the 13 council areas of the state and read by the convener Osita Kalu from Ebonyi South in Abakaliki.

The youths then warned Governor Umahi to desist from blackmailing PDP as 2023 presidency of Nigeria from the South East is the region’s right and not a privilege. 

The youths, however, assured Umahi that he will not  benefit from APC the likes of what he had already benefitted from the  PDP. According to them, APC does not have the interest of the South-East at hand.

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“As young people in the PDP who have always contributed our quota to democracy growth in Ebonyi, we are proud to say that the party is robustly intact in the state with eight out of the nine National Assembly members from the state: three serving Senators and five House of Representatives members and many state assembly members and the major stakeholders of the state stocked in the party. 

“Inasmuch as we continue to plead with the governor to rescind his moves, we are enthused that the house is full with its human- material strength. We shall continue to pay our loyalty to the PDP as it remains the party with the democratic ethos to drive the wheels of good governance forward to the most desired harbour.

“We have taken our time to study the events trailing the agitation of the Ebonyi State governor for the Nigerian president of the South-East extraction and here we have come to bare our mind on the subject matter.

“PDP has never melted injustice to the South-East region as stated by Gov. David Umahi. We are not against anyone defecting but we are against blackmailing the South-East region and PDP.

“PDP youths still stand for a Nigeria president from Igbo extraction. South-East region will never be in support of APC because of the marginalisation the APC has meted on us. For instance, we have a brother who is most qualified to be the Secretary to the Federal Government, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, but because he is from South-East, the APC refused to give him that worthy position to someone who has worked for the APC.

“As an organisation poised to providing and engendering the cause of all-inclusive leadership drive, giving equitable attention to power-sharing and allocation, we wish to say here that it’s long overdue- the presidency of Nigeria from the South-East. It’s a right, not a privilege. It’s a cause that is worth fighting.

“But away from this sentiment, we have carefully analyzed the move made by the Ebonyi State governor towards dumping the PDP which made him everything he boasts about today and can tell the public that it’s more a move towards actualising self-interest than the colouration it’s being given. Why is it so? The APC he’s running into hasn’t zoned its presidential ticket to the South East as such a possibility is still in doubt. If we say that someone could be seeking asylum in the arms of a ruling party against post-tenure stewardship review, we should not be misconstrued.”

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE