Abia North Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders have begun moves to ensure the party returns to power in the state in 2027, putting its 2023 defeat behind them.
The stakeholders met at the residence of Uko Nkole, a former member of the House of Representatives for the Arochukwu/Ohafia federal constituency in Ozu Abam, Arochukwu local government area.
They, among others, resolved to “bury their hatchets and move forward “ and work with other zones to produce the state‘s next governor.
In an address, the party‘s state chapter chairman, Abraham Amah, blamed the defeat on internal and external factors, noting that “the good thing is that we‘ve learnt our lesson the hard way.”
He said the chapter had taken many measures, including reconciliation with aggrieved members, insistence on internal democracy, and a ban on imposition of candidates, to re-engineer the party.
His words,“ With four out of the seven members of the State House of Assembly, the zone remains one of the party‘s strongholds. Hence, we must be in the vanguard of the campaign.
In a remark, the host, Nkole, expressed satisfaction with the members‘ turnout „even at such short notice,“ noting that it indicates that „we‘re already ready for the task ahead.“
Nkole, who put the turnout figure at „95 per cent against 5, who sent in their apologies,“ underlined the need for „us to walk our talk as people who have tested what it means to be out of power.“
The member of the Green Chamber from 2015 to 2023 lamented that the opposition party had become „a nursery ground for others,“ arguing that the trend must be stopped.
Similarly, Eme Okoro, a former secretary to the state government and elder statesman, harped on the need for unity of purpose among the members, urging them to focus on the objective.
In their respective comments, Lucky Johnson and Nnamdi Ibekwe, the members representing Isuikwuato and Bende North constituencies in the State House of Assembly, respectively, supported and cooperated with the objective.
They also reiterated the need for regular meetings to allow the members to converse, share opinions and ideas, and map out and fine-tune their strategies for the election.
Earlier, at a welcome address, the zonal chairman of the party, Gabriel Elendu, said the meeting became necessary for the members to interact and chart the party‘s way forward.
