By Sebastine Ebhuomhan, Thursday, 20th June 2024. Abuja.
An attempt by a faction of the Edo State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to Governor Godwin Obaseki and the party’s governorship election candidate, Dr. Asuerinme Akintunde Ighodalo, to expel PDP National Vice Chairman for South South, Chief Dan Osi Orbih, has failed.
Orbih is the leader of PDP Legacy Group, the foundation and largest caucus of the state party, which gave Obaseki a platform to re-contest and win his re-election after the All Progressives Congress (APC) chased him away in 2020. Orbih has as followers, the former Oredo Federal Constituency Representative, Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama and former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Philip Shaibu, both of whom teamed up after Obaseki allegedly removed Ogbeide-Ihama and used the Edo State Assembly to impeach and replace Shaibu with a Labour Party (LP) member.
Worried over the gale of defections that have swept away thousands of PDP leaders and followers, the State Working Committee (SWC) met at the party secretariat in Benin City to arrest the development, at the end of which the trio of leaders were allegedly suspended.
The emergency meeting that was attended by nine SWC members, confirmed on Wednesday by the State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ogie Vasco, was reliably propelled by fresh confusion, chaos and crisis resulting from over 200 new letters of resignation allegedly submitted by PDP leaders across the state and over 7,000 similar letters from disillusioned members, who are all waiting to officially announce their defections at formal ceremonies of their new party.
But the effort of the SWC has now been voided and nullified after Orbih, in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/601/2024, obtained the restraining order of a Federal High Court in Abuja against his ward executives, the only authority PDP constitution empowered to expel a member. A stamped copy of the Order exclusively obtained by this journalist, dated 10th May, 2024, signed by the Registrar, Mrs. Awase Igba, under the Seal and the Hand of Hon. Justice P. O. Lifu (JP), restrained Mr. Paulinus Ibode, the People’s Democratic Party, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the defendants in that order, from suspending or expelling Orbih from the PDP.
The Order stated, “Upon reading the Affidavit in support of the application and Affidavit of Urgency both deposed to by Chief Dan Osi Orbih, Adult, Male, Christian, Politician of Ward 4, Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State, together with Exhibits attached thereto and filed at the Court Registry, it is hereby ordered as follows.”
“The 1st Defendant/Respondent is herein in the interim, restrained by himself, privies, agents, servants, or whosoever is acting on her behalf from suspending the Plaintiff/Applicant as Vice Chairman South South Zone and member of the 2nd Defendant pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice already filed.”
“The 2nd and 3rd Defendants/Respondents are restrained from carrying out any purported suspension of the Plaintiff/Applicant by the 1st Defendant or any person whatsoever pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice which is herein fixed against the 22nd of May, 2024.”
Speaking exclusively on the purported suspension or expulsion, Chief Orbih, the Kulukulu 1 said, “Those who made the pronouncement are a bunch of idle men, who have not come to terms with the enormity of challenges facing the PDP in the coming election.”
“Instead of finding ways of bringing aggrieved party leaders and members together on a roundtable in order to face the election as a united family, they are busy making announcements to amuse their pay masters. They have shamelessly exposed their ignorance of the PDP Constitution by making pronouncements that they don’t have powers to make.”
In the same vein, the purported suspension of Ogbeide-Ihama and Shaibu remains voided and nullified since they were neither initiated nor ratified by their ward leadership.
In his reaction to the SWC pronouncement, Shaibu said, “Replying them is tantamount to glorifying them. They are crying because of the impact of our body punches. I don’t want to respond to their mad decision.”
In the case of Ogbeide-Ihama, the 14-member leadership of his ward under the chairmanship of Prince Kingsley Eleme has formally replied to the SWC in a letter titled, Re: Purported Suspension of Rt. Hon. (Engr.) Ogbeide-Ihama, dated 19th June, 2024, and signed by all the executive members.
The letter stated, “Our attention has been drawn to a piece of information spreading on social media about the purported expulsion of a former member of the House of Representatives representing Oredo Federal Constituency Rt. Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama from the party.”
“We, the executives of Ward 2 in PDP Oredo LGA, validly elected in the congress of 2020, with our mandate established by the Federal High Court in 2023, and our tenure extended by the National Working Committee of the party in April 2024, hereby inform the public that no such action was discussed or carried out by the Ward 2 executives of Oredo.”
It will be recalled that both Shaibu and Ogbeide-Ihama substantially boosted the governorship campaign of the APC candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, last week. Shaibu donated 50 campaign cars, 6 campaign trucks fitted with sound systems and a campaign office meant for his unfulfilled governorship campaign while Ogbeide-Ihama donated a centrally-located campaign office at the Sakponba junction of the ever-busy Ring Road in Benin.