The Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, has told the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja on Tuesday that he was leaving the party.
He told the party that the would be joining the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) which he claimed would protect the South-East interest in the coming 2023 elections.
It was gathered that Umahi told the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP that his decision to join the APC was irrevocable.
The PDP NWC Members, who were led to the meeting by its National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, were said to have tried in vain in convincing the governor not to leave the party.
Others members who were at the meeting at the Ebonyi Governor’s Lodge in Abuja were Deputy National Secretary, Agbo Emmanuel; National Organising Secretary, Austin Akobondu; Financial Secretary, Abdullahi Maibasira; National Women Leader, Mariya Waziri and Senator Sulieman Nazif.
It was learnt that the governor was friendly when he received the PDP delegation, but his decision to leave the party when the issue came up remained unchanged.
It was gathered that the PDP delegation argued that the APC had become unpopular and impressed it on the governor that there was no need leaving the party.
Sources at the meeting disclosed that the governor was not convinced, insisting that the APC was planning to zone the 2023 Presidency to the South-East.
He was said to have promised to stay in the PDP if the party could make pronouncement that it would zone the Presidency to the same zone.
One of the sources said, “I think his (governor’s) mind was made up. We told him there was no need for him to abandon the party that had made him a deputy governor, state chairman of the party, two-time governor and all that. But he refused.
“He wanted us to unilaterally zone the office of the Presidency to his area. We cannot do that. Parties are not run that way. He told us he was leaving. That is what we got from him.’’
On his part, Secondus confirmed that the party’s leadership met with Umahi.
However, he declined to give the details of the meeting, insisting that the meeting was on ‘‘national issues.’’
