Majority of the Peoples Democratic Party delegates from the Southeast have declared as null and void, a purported endorsement of Uche Secondus for the position of the National Chairmanship of the Party by some members of the Party who met under an unrecognized name of ‘Southeast Stakeholders Caucus’. According to one of the delegates from Imo State who confided in Yours Sincerely from his hotel room in Abuja, said that those that attended the said meeting; “represent the troubles and backwardness of the PDP in the Southeast, and whatever position they have taken is for their personal interest. According to the top delegate who is from Ideato North LGA of Imo State: “I can confidently tell you that those men and women cannot tell us whom to vote for in this national convention. We are Party leaders in our own right and we cannot be pushed around by some people who feel that they own the Party. I think they have only retired the large sum of money they collected from one of the recent returnees to the Party. They have only spoke for themselves, and not for Southeast delegates of the Party.”
Further investigations revealed that the Southeast Stakeholders who are mostly sympathetic to Atiku Abubakar presidential ambition have had all their expenses bankrolled by the former Vice-President. Apart from bankrolling their expenses and giving them huge amount of money, a good number of them have alsio been promised plum positions should the sterile ambition of the Turakin Adamawa materialize. However, most of the delegates spoken to, feel shortchanged by this group of Party leaders, as they complain of being treated like slaves. According to an Ibeku Aboh Mbaise born politician and PDP delegate, who spoke to Yours Sincerely in confidence; “These men think we are fools. They have collected their own money and do not want us to collect our own. For majority of us, we are here for business, our vote is for sale. For me, I will vote for the candidate that gives me the highest amount of money.”
The PDP convention which is holding today in Abuja has been described as a defining moment for the crisis ridden opposition Party. Pundits believe that for an opposition to be conducting a convention that is this competitive (there are nine chairmanship candidates), makes the chances of the Party’s cohesiveness very slim.
