Ologunagba: We dissolved Akwa Ibom PDP Exco to protect party from Gov Eno’s influence
• Debo Ologunagba, PDP spokesperson
Debo Ologunagba, the national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has clarified the reasons behind the dissolution of the party’s executives in Akwa Ibom State.
On Tuesday, the PDP leadership took the step to dissolve its structures in Akwa Ibom in order to protect the party’s interests and ensure compliance with national directives.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the PDP leadership appointed a caretaker committee chaired by Igwat Umoren in Akwa Ibom.
Borono Bassey, a former publicity secretary of the PDP in the state, was named as secretary of the caretaker committee to oversee administrative functions and internal communication.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Mr Ologunagba alleged that the dissolved executives were under the influence of Pastor Umo Eno, the governor of Akwa Ibom, who had defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“In Akwa Ibom state, the governor has left. At both the national working committee and party level, there seems to be no distinction between the state executives and their alignment with the All Progressives Congress, APC,” he said.
“Section 10, sub-section 6 of the party constitution states, ‘No member of the party shall align with other parties or groups to undermine the party or any of its selected governments. Belonging to two parties is an anathema.’
“We believe the Akwa Ibom executives are controlled by the governor who joined the APC. He openly said on tape that he would oversee both parties, which is unacceptable and undermines the PDP.”
For more than two decades, the PDP has dominated Akwa Ibom politics, but it lost control in June after the governor defected to the APC.
Eno became the second PDP governor in the south-south region, after Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, to defect to the APC within two months, raising concerns about party cohesion.
Four months after his defection, the PDP dissolved its state executives in Akwa Ibom to “restore order, reassert control, and prevent further erosion of its structure” in the state.
