Rescue party from collapse, PDP chieftains tell Taraba gov
CHIGOZIE AMADI
About 50 Chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State have appealed to Governor Agbu Kefas to take steps to rescue the party from total collapse as a matter of urgency.
This was contained in a petition addressed to the Governor and the State party chairman dated July 4 and sighted by our correspondent on Monday.
The 50 chieftains including a serving Commissioner for Waste Management and Resource Innovation, Bernard Shonzon, the immediate past Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr David Ishaya, immediate past Chairman of the Local Government, Joseph Sanweri, other former Council Chairmen and Secretaries, former House of Assembly members, Commissioners and Councilors from the area who signed the petition accused Danladi Gwampo of a deliberate move to hijack the party in the area for his gains.
The petitioners while expressing their dissatisfaction with Danladi Mohammed Gwampo’s leadership style accused him of hijacking the party’s operations in the area and running it as a one-man show, which they believe significantly contributed to the party’s poor performance in the most recent elections.
According to the stakeholders, Gwampo’s autocratic style resulted in the PDP losing a crucial House of Assembly seat to the opposition in the last election.
Part of the petition read, “There are individuals who are desirous to join our party, but Gwampo who hijacked the registration materials have vowed to stop them from registering as members of the party.
“Additionally, the party failed to secure a victory in a key House of Representatives by-election. Most strikingly, despite the over 90,000 registered voters in Yorro, the PDP managed to muster only about 15,000 votes for Governor Kefas in the last election and this has not happened before.
“Yorro has been a reference point for PDP winning streak in the local government areas in the northern zone, but we are losing out because of the leadership style of Gwampo.
“We want to call on Governor Kefas to intervene in the situation urgently. Gwampo’s actions have not only hurt the party’s performance but if not addressed the party’s prospects for the upcoming 2027 elections could be jeopardized.”
The stakeholders want the governor to direct the council chairman and ward chairmen to accept new members without allowing the process hijacked by one man.
This is even as they said party activities should henceforth be conducted in the open and not at a private residence of an individual as is currently being done.
