TRAGEDY FOR PDP: ABARIBE RESIGNS AS SENATE MINORITY LEADER AFTER DUMPING PARTY



Aba: Senator Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe today, formally resigned as Senate Minority Leader, after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA where he intends to contest to again represent Abia South Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate.
Abaribe is expected to slug it out with Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu who won the PDP ticket for the Abia South Senatorial District.
Confirming the defection of Abaribe to APGA in a telephone call on Friday, his media aide, Uchenna Awom, said: “It is true. The distinguished senator has joined APGA. The impunity in the PDP can no longer be tolerated. The party is in a serious crisis now and the injury is self inflicted.”
Abaribe was first elected to the Senate in 2007 after he served as Deputy Governor between 1999 and 2003.
Abaribe, governorship aspirant in Abia State until last Wednesday equally resigned from his position in the National Assembly as the Senate Minority Leader.
The very popular legislator withdrew from the Abia State PDP governorship primaries on Wednesday, citing alleged imaginary delegates list and lack of transparency as reasons.
Tragedy seems to have struck the PDP, as most of its heavyweights in the South-East, which has been the party’s traditional stronghold for over two decades, have dumped it in the past few days.
The biggest loss of all was the exit of Peter Obi, the soft spoken charismatic former governor of Anambra State and frontline PDP Presidential aspirant who dumped the party.
Apart from Abaribe, in Enugu, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, CFR, PhD, former Deputy Senate President and frontline Enugu State PDP Guber Aspirant as well as Chief Val Ozigbo, PDP Governorship candidate in Anambra in 2022 and Anambra South senatorial district aspirant also dumped the party.
In separate letters to his ward chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State and the President of the Senate in the National Assembly, Abaribe cited reasons of illegality, impunity and hesitations in decision-making for his decision to dump the party.
In the letter titled, “Resignation of my membership from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,” which was addressed to the ward chairman, Abaribe wrote: “I write to inform you of my decision to resign as a member of (the) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“This development is consequent upon the shameful display of illegality, impunity and undemocratic decision of the party and after due consultations with my constituents.”
In a letter of resignation as a member of the PDP in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly and by extension the Senate Minority Leader, which was addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, Abaribe said: “This is to notify you and my dear colleagues in the Senate that I have formally resigned my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party through my ward. This also means my resignation as (the) Minority Leader of the Senate.”
The two-paragraph letter titled, “Notification of Resignation from the Membership of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Senate,” concluded: “I wish to thank you and my dear colleagues in the Leadership of the Senate for the warm camaraderie we enjoyed while I was Minority Leader.”
Most of those who left PDP are expected like Abaribe, to be part of the 3rd Force by joining APGA or any other party other than the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC and the key opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as plans are underway for the other parties to form a coalition and oust the APC, just the party ousted the PDP in 2015.