PDP crisis rooted in disregard for constitution, says factional BoT chairman Ohuabunwa

The ongoing crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), according to Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, factional Chairman of the party’s parallel Board of Trustees (BoT), stems from years of disobedience to the party’s constitution and unchecked personal ambitions.

Speaking on Arise News on Monday, Ohuabunwa blamed the PDP’s internal wrangling and repeated factionalisation on what he described as self-inflicted errors by party leaders.

His words, “We got to this point for no other reason than disobedience to our own constitution.

“If we had kept to our laws and obeyed our own rules, we wouldn’t be where we are today, ” he said.

Ohuabunwa, who leads a parallel PDP BoT, said the group was established to recover and reconcile the party, which he claimed has lost its moral compass.

He further recalled that after the party lost power in 2015, an Ekweremadu Committee was set up to diagnose internal problems, but its recommendations were never implemented.

“We continued behaving as if we were still in power, and since then, the same mistakes have repeated themselves in 2019 and 2023,” he added.

According to the former senator, personal ambition and greed are at the heart of the PDP’s repeated crises, with members often using the party as a steppingstone for presidential aspirations.

He stressed that party rules clearly dictate that returning members lose their seniority, yet some expect immediate leadership positions.

“From the history of the PDP, every crisis has been about who wants to be president,” he noted.

Ohuabunwa also criticised the handling of leadership succession following the exit of former National Chairman Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, saying it violated the PDP’s zoning principle.

He claimed that interim arrangements, such as Ambassador Damagum stepping in as Deputy National Chairman (North), were supposed to be temporary but remain unresolved.

On accusations that his factional BoT is illegitimate, Ohuabunwa dismissed the claims.

He said the parallel structure was formed in accordance with the PDP constitution to act as the party’s conscience, noting that “our mission is to recover the PDP and make it what it was meant to be: a disciplined, democratic institution guided by its constitution.”

Regarding INEC’s recognition of the Damagum-led faction, Ohuabunwa described it as a misunderstanding, pointing to prior correspondence involving congresses and primaries that predated the formation of his group.

“Yes, we are a faction, but we are the conscience of the party.

“Our BoT was formed to restore order, unity, and constitutional discipline, ” he said.