There have been at least 7,331 resignations and departures from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Imo.
In a briefing to reporters on Sunday afternoon in Owerri, the capital of Imo State, the party’s former secretary, Mr. Ogbonna Alozie, made the announcement.
The state party chairman, Prince Marshal Okaforanyanwu, resigned from his job and the party two days prior, according to a report by Infostride News.
Party officials at all levels, from the state level (all 24 of them) down to the ward level (6,710) resigned in protest.
Alozie claimed the decision was made by the officials as a show of support with Okaforanyanwu, who had been “marginalised and unfairly treated by the party’s national leadership despite his sacrifices to keep the party afloat in the state.”
Mr. Emmanuel Nwanegbo, the party’s Orlu zone chairman, alleged that the national leadership of the party pushed a candidate on party members for the November 11 governorship race in Imo, despite the fact that the party’s bylaws mandate a free and fair election.
According to him, the officials strongly opposed the imposition and saw it as an attempt to make them expendable in the party they had labored so hard to establish.
When asked about the party’s performance in the 2023 elections, Prince Amadi, the Owerri zonal secretary, indicated that the officials did not feel supported by the party’s national leadership.
From unacceptable imposition to turning a deaf ear to our complaints, the national leadership has taken us on a ride for far too long. We will not be bullied. He proclaimed, “Imo must be liberated.”
Nkwerre LGA Chair Dickson Ejiofor and Aboh Mbaise LGA Chair Okechukwu Nneji and Ohaji-Egbema LGA Chair Gerald Uba each said that their separate parties had left with at least 3,000 registered members.
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