President inubu has finished our Party’, PDP founding Father names another Gov to defect
President inubu has finished our Party’, PDP founding Father names another Gov to defect
Senator Chris Ekpenyong, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has expressed deep concern over the growing wave of defections from the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Reports indicate that the recent defections of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his deputy Sir Monday Onyeme, and former Governor Senator Ifeanyi Okowa to the APC have further destabilized the PDP.
Speaking with Vanguard on Saturday, Ekpenyong — who served as Akwa Ibom State’s Deputy Governor from 1999 to 2007 — warned that Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno might soon follow the same path and join the APC.
He lamented that the PDP is now struggling for survival, claiming President Bola Tinubu has effectively taken control of the opposition.
Ekpenyong attributed the mass defections to dissatisfaction within the party, particularly criticising former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s decision to seek the presidential ticket again, which he believes triggered the current exodus.
He said, “Tinubu has killed the PDP. I’m sure Akwa Ibom may follow soon. Everybody wanted former VP Atiku to clearly state that he wasn’t going to contest, but his persistence has forced people to make their own decisions.
“This is dividing the North and the South. What do we do now? The party has been destroyed. I honestly don’t know how they can rebuild it to challenge the APC in the future.
“The people we could talk to are no longer interested. The first mistake PDP made was handing over the party to the governors.
“That was the mistake founding fathers like Obasanjo made. Obasanjo seized the party. The only ones who stood up to him were the late Chief Sunday Awoniyi and former Vice President Alex Ekwueme”.
