ORBHIH BLAMES OBASEKI, DAMAGUM FOR PDP COLLAPSE IN EDO
The National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-South region, Chief Dan Orbih, has come out strongly against the leadership of the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, and the immediate past Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, accusing them of orchestrating the political decline of the PDP in the state. Orbih’s statement comes in the wake of a fresh wave of defections from the PDP, most notably the defection of the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku, along with two other lawmakers and several influential party stakeholders.
According to Orbih, the crisis engulfing the Edo chapter of the PDP was foreseeable and preventable, but worsened due to the national leadership’s decision to hand over the party’s gubernatorial ticket to Obaseki, effectively alienating key stakeholders. “We told Damagum and the national leadership that allowing Obaseki to determine the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate for the 2024 elections would destroy the party’s foundation in Edo. Today, that warning has come to pass,” he said.
Orbih, an ally of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, described the party’s current position as unprecedented in its history in Edo State, saying the PDP had never been this vulnerable since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999. “We are at risk of being completely wiped out from the political map of the state,” he warned. He urged committed members to join ongoing reconciliation efforts, though he admitted that rebuilding the party would require time, sacrifice, and strategic engagement with aggrieved factions.
