The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), Umar Damagum, has described the mass defection of Delta State
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and other elected leaders to the All Progressives
Congress (APC) as painful and disappointing.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday during the presentation of
the Certificate of Return to Mr. Jude Ezenwafor, the PDP governorship candidate
for the upcoming Anambra election, Damagum lamented that the defections were
unexpected, considering the strong support the party had given Delta State over
the years.
“It is very sad and unfortunate because to me, if
there’s any state that should not act this way, it is Delta. The party has been
very magnanimous to them,” Damagum said.
He noted that the defectors did not accuse the PDP of
wrongdoing, emphasizing that the party had only treated them well. “The pains
will be in us not because of anything, but because we gave Delta all our
support, from the emergence of the governor to his predecessor, who also
doubled as our vice presidential candidate,” he added.
Damagum assured that the party would immediately take
steps to reclaim its structures in Delta by setting up a caretaker committee.
He stressed that the 2027 elections would not be
determined by the number of governors any party controlled but by the support
of Nigerians. “No challenge is insurmountable. We must close ranks and focus on
rescuing Nigeria,” he said.
On the Anambra election, Damagum congratulated
Ezenwafor on his emergence as PDP's candidate and promised the party’s full
backing.
In his acceptance speech, Ezenwafor expressed
confidence in winning the election, declaring Anambra as a PDP state. He
pledged to tackle insecurity and build bridges across political divides.
“All of us contesting the governorship election today,
including the serving governor, were once aspirants within the PDP,” he said.
“As a former senior special assistant to the governor on security, I will not
take issues of safety for granted.”
Ezenwafor was accompanied by his wife, members of the
PDP State Working Committee in Anambra, and campaign officials.
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