In a letter dated 1st of November 2024 and made available to the press, Barrister James Okpara, a frontline chairmanship aspirant in the Abia state PDP chairmanship race scheduled to be held on Sunday 3rd of November 2024 in Umuahia has withdrawn from the race.
Barr. Okpara stated that he does not want to dignify or legitimize the actions of the Asiforo-led Abia State PDP Caretaker committee by being part of the process which he described as already compromised against him, he accused the Asiforo-led SWC of having shared all the party positions amongst themselves and their cronies to cover up for their incompetence and maladministration, he said The process of the congress is irredeemably biased and corrupt and that he cannot be part of such a process so as not to be seen to give it legitimacy.
Full Text……..
State Secretariat,
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Abia State.
Ndem, Nde Bende PDP.
Why I am Withdrawing from the Purported Abia State PDP Congress Purportedly Fixed
for Sunday 03 November 2024.
This is to formally inform you that I am withdrawing from the purported Abia state PDP Congress which is being organized by the purported Abia State PDP Caretaker Committee. I have also decided not to participate in the Abia State PDP Congress scheduled for 03 November 2024 in order not to dignify or otherwise legitimize the actions of the purported Abia State PDP Caretaker Committee.
This choice has not come easily, but I feel compelled to prioritize integrity, transparency, the good of the Party, and the good of Abia state above all else.
It is a fact known to the general public and members of the Party that the immediate past SWC of Abia State PDP shared the chairmanship position and other key positions amongst themselves and their cronies before the tenure of the barely lamentable SWC expired. They prepared a list made up predominantly of SWC members and their cronies and allocated positions to each other.
In other words, they exchanged positions amongst themselves and were engaged in a game of musical chairs amongst themselves.
A former SWC member warned me off both on the phone and in person from contesting the chairmanship of the Party because the Party had decided to give it to a member of the SWC.
He further told me that I would be wasting my time and money. On July 16th, a former Abia North Zonal Executive of PDP berated and scolded his colleagues because they attended a meeting that I called with them. He told them that they should remember that Barrister James Okpara was not the choice of the SWC for the chairmanship and mentioned the name of the SWC member that SWC had decided to be the next chairman of Abia State PDP.
The said Abia North Zonal Executive is now a key member of the purported Abia State Caretaker Committee, and it is the same immediate past SWC that has metamorphosed into the purported Abia State PDP Caretaker Committee. The referee is also a player in the game.
I had no confidence in the immediate past SWC to organize a free and fair congress and I do not have confidence in the purported Abia State PDP Caretaker Committee to organize a free and fair congress.
The process of the congress is irredeemably biased and corrupt. The winners of the purported congress are already known, and I will not be a patsy in this severely compromised purported congress.
The immediate past SWC was an unmitigated disaster and a monumental failure. They gave Abia State PDP the worst result imaginable in the 2023 elections and members of the same SWC with unbridled arrogance are now being installed and foisted upon ordinary members of Abia State PDP.
That record of failure, in itself, should keep them humble and out of office within the Party for a while. In saner climes, every member of the immediate-past SWC would have resigned following the 2023 elections. But unfortunately, and to the severe detriment of our Party, they have devised and perfected schemes to entrench themselves and their cronies in office.
It appears that Abia State PDP is the only place where abject failure and dismal performance are rewarded and promoted.
What magic are they now going to do that they could not perform when they had the power of incumbency? It is clear that a tiny clique in the leadership of our Party is impervious and resistant to positive change and is cocooned in their bubble where they do not know the feelings of PDP members and ordinary Abians. It is obvious that the leadership of Abia State PDP has learned nothing. Any leadership that cannot produce a successor is a disaster of the rankest species.
I paid the sum of N1,250,000.00 (One Million Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira only) to the leadership of Abia State PDP for my Chairmanship Nomination Form and I hereby demand a refund of that money. There are living witnesses to the phone conversation of 16 July 2024, and everybody present heard the nauseating absolutism in the voice of the speaker because the phone call was on speakerphone.
I presented myself for service to our Party as Chairman because I believe in our Party’s founding principles, and the vision we hold for our members, and the people of Abia state. While I am withdrawing from this race, I am not abandoning the values and goals that brought me to the PDP.
I remain fully committed to serving our Party and its members and to advancing the reforms we need to restore trust in our internal Party processes. I will continue to advocate for a transparent, fair, and accountable system that reflects the true will of our Party members.
Thank you to my supporters, all Party members, and the good people of Abia for the unwavering support and trust you have shown me throughout this journey.
I encourage each of you to stay engaged, to push for transparency and fairness, and to ensure that our Party remains a beacon of hope and integrity. Together, we can build a stronger, more principled Party that upholds the values we hold dear; and together we can win back the trust and mandate of the good people of Abia.
Jokwanu wo!
Hon. Barrister James C. Kwubiri Okpara
