The Caretaker Committee Chairman, South-South Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Elder Emma Ogidi, has described the defection of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a survivalist move by desperate politicians to a shark-infested river.
Speaking in Asaba shortly after his arrival to assume duties as the newly appointed South-South Zonal caretaker chairman of the PDP, Ogidi, said when the survivalists go deeper into the party, they will still be infected.
While boasting that the defection of a few does not equate to the collapse of the party, he emphasized that many of Delta’s political elites owe their rise to the PDP.
According to him, PDP is still standing strong in Delta State despite the shocking defection of Governor Oborevwori and Senator Okowa to APC, just as he described the mass defection as a setback but insisted that the soul of the party remains intact.
Ogidi, who dismissed the belief that the PDP had been emptied, said his immediate mandate is to reconnect with loyal party members, reconstitute a caretaker committee in Delta State, and reposition the PDP as a resilient brand ahead of future elections.
Optimistic, he paid tribute to party faithful who chose loyalty over defection, hinting at plans to engage founding PDP leaders in Delta, including former Governor James Ibori.
“They are men and women of integrity. God bless them. Yes, PDP still exists in Delta State. Our number has been depleted, no doubt about that, but the party is alive and standing.
“The recent defection as a survivalist move by desperate politicians. The APC is a shark-infested river,” he warned. “I can tell you that the PDP people who left are survivalists… but when they go deeper, they will still be infected.”
“They will know I am a true servant here to bring everybody back together to have a stronger and better PDP. When the news went out that I had been given the assignment, I received many phone calls from people who said they were not going anywhere.
There is still enthusiasm in PDP,” he stated.
Ogidi, appointed on Tuesday by the party’s acting national chairman, Amb Umar Damagun, was tasked with rebuilding the party’s structure in the region after the stunning political earthquake that saw two of Delta’s most prominent PDP leaders cross over to the ruling party.
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