“I Don’t Know Whether PDP Is Alive Or Not, But Wike Does Not Have The Oxygen To Fight It” – Senator Ekpenyong

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Chris Ekpenyong has blamed the present prostrate condition of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on the deviation from its founding principles.

This is even as he noted that Nyesom Wike, the Federal capital Territory, FCT, Minister, does not have the required wherewithal to derail PDP and its vision.

Epenyongrepresenting who addressed the media on Sunday September 8, 2024  in Uyo said the dysfunctional state of the PDP has given individuals, including Wike and Governors to become “taller than the party”

Senator Ekpenyong spoke against the backdrop of Wike’s threat to destabilize States which Governors are perceived to be now, supporting his estranged political godson, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, to, according to Wike, erode his  PDP structure in the State.

“Asking me about a very young man who peradventure, came to be initiated into a political party and grew from the ranks of being the chairman of a Local Government through the instrumentality of his boss, Dr Peter Odili, and became what ever he became.

“He now says he wants to fight the stem. You know, everything has a stem. I will not join issues with him but I think he is taking advantage of the fact that our party has deviated from what was supposed to be the vision and mission of its founding fathers.

“Otherwise, you would not see anyone who became a Governor of the PDP, now becoming taller than the party. It would not have been, but I am yet to see how he will fight.

“It will be a surprise to say whether PDP is alive or not. PDP has gone into a cocoon, it is yet to be revived. But even at that, Wike does not have the oxygen to fight the PDP. I think he does not.”

The Former Akwa Ibom Deputy Governor blamed  the slide in the fortunes of the party on the fact that after deviating from its founding principles, it has also allowed state Governors to be calling the shots.

According to him, “with Governors, in charge, the PDP abandoned its toga as party devoted to the promotion of social justice and fairness, to assume the status of a platform that embraces imposition.

” PDP is a national party which you can find in all nooks and crannies of the country. It is a party that is predicated on social justice and fairness and that means you cannot just hand-pick, you must go through a process, and you must be the people’s choice.” Senator Ekpenyong stated .

He insisted that the PDP lost focus the very moment imposition became the rule, with state Governors becoming taller than the party.

But he  expressed the  optimism that with the required leadership and political will, the PDP could recreate and rediscover itself .