Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State have “rejected” the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, ahead of the 2023 general election.
Mr Obi hails from Agulu community in the council area of the state.
The PDP members stated this on Saturday when coordinators of the party from the 21 local government areas of the state met with the Presidential Management Committee in Awka, the state capital.
The party members met to fashion out ways for the victory of their presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa in next year’s poll.
The members described Mr Obi as a “social media candidate,” insisting that the council area has always been a PDP stronghold and that the former governor of Anambra would not change the situation with his “personal ambition.”
Mr Obi was the governor of Anambra State between 2006 and 2014 under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
In October 2014, seven months after handing over to Wille Obiano, he defected to the PDP.
The former governor was a presidential aspirant of the PDP this year.
He announced his resignation from the PDP, a few days before the party’s presidential primary, saying there were practices in the party that were inconsistent with his “belief and persona”.
He defected to the LP where he later emerged as the party’s 2023 presidential candidate.
The PDP members in Mr Obi’s council area said the LP candidate did not consult them before exiting the party.
“We were in the party before Peter Obi joined us when he left APGA. And PDP was already formidable and winning elections. His decision to leave after many years of benefiting from the PDP and to pursue his personal ambitions cannot impact the party negatively,” said Ugochukwu Adilieje, the PDP coordinator in Anaocha council area, where Mr Obi hails from.
“Peter Obi never consulted his political family before his decision to leave; for him, it was his personal ambition, and such cannot be binding on us all as we have our own personal ambition, which is for PDP to win in next year’s election and in other elections,” he stated.
Mr Adilieje asked his party members not to be afraid of candidates from other political parties, maintaining that the PDP members would support the party’s presidential candidate, Mr Atiku, and other candidates of the party to win in next year’s polls.
He said, “Our mandate is Atiku, and we will crush anyone standing in our way. We cannot allow our people to continue to be victims of emotions and sentiments.
“We are members of the PDP and must own up to our party and its presidential candidate and ensure that he wins in our local government area and state. Peter Obi is only popular on social media and not in Anaocha (Council Area).”
‘Rallies will not influence voters’
Since he emerged as the LP candidate, Mr Obi has been enjoying an increased following which later dovetailed into rallies usually organised by his supporters, otherwise known as Obidients.
But Mr Adilieje dismissed the rallies, saying such would not have an effect on voters.
“Anyone can organise a rally that every Tom Dickinson and Harry Potter will attend, but on the day of the election, the real voters will cast their votes accordingly,” he said.
A former PDP governorship aspirant in Anambra State, Obiora Okonkwo, was recently appointed director of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the PDP in the state.
Chuma Ezeafurukwe, the coordinator of the party in Aguata council area of the state, said the appointment of Mr Okonkwo, a professor, as the party’s PCC director in Anambra State had rejuvenated the PDP in the state.
He said the party was confident of winning in the council area and state in 2023.
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