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Gov. Mbah, Ihedioha, Achike Udenwa, Ali Odefa, Ifeyinwa Morah, Others Grace PDP Zonal Meeting
The recently held South East zonal meeting of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attracted key leaders of the party, including the governor of Enugu State who doubles as leader of the party in the zone, Dr. Peter Mbah, former governors of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha and Achike Udenwa, SouthEast Zonal chairman of the party, High Chief Ali Odefa, the Zonal Women Leader, Barr. Ifeyinwa Morah and other top dignitaries.
Speaking at the event in Enugu, Governor Mbah urged party leaders and faithful in the region to rise to the task of recovering the party's lost glory.
He stressed the need to rejig the party’s financial, administrative, and operational strategies, expressing a strong conviction that the party would rise again.
“As the National Vice Chairman South East rightly observed, we have shed a lot of weight. Today, when you look at other parties, whether it is Labour Party (LP), whether it is All Progressives Congress (APC), and whether it is the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and so on, you are actually talking about PDP members.
“But providence has placed a lot on us in the history of the PDP that we now have to steer the affairs of the party and it back to its former glory, to that preeminent position we have always held in the historical and political developments of this country. And in doing that, we have a couple of areas we have to look into, such as financial, administrative, and operational strategies to bring us back to preeminence.
“So, it is time for us to begin to craft a strategy on how we can get back to that pole position that we had always occupied. It means we have to first of all consolidate our support base as a party, and go on to now reach out to our brothers and sisters, who may have felt aggrieved for one reason or the other and left the party to see how we can bring them back”, Mbah stated.
Earlier in his welcome remark, the National Vice Chairman of the Party, South East, Chief Ali Odefa, also called on party faithful and leaders in the region to brace up for the challenge engendering the resurgence of the party in the South East and nationally.
“I would implore all of us to know that the fortunes of the party in the last one year have dwindled so badly and the onus is on all of us, whatever efforts we can put in to make sure that we redeem the past glory of the party, so that we can return the party to its enviable heights the way it used to be in the South East.
“Some years back, PDP used to have five governors in the South East. It reduced to four. It reduced to three. One ran away. It remained two; and after the last election, we only have one seated with us here. I think this one is a cat with 32 lives.
“But by the grace of God, some of our candidates in other states are in the courts. So, it is our prayers that the one we already have will be retained and the ones that are pursuing their cases in court will win. We must do everything to get our party back on the track”, Odefa said.
Others at the meeting include, Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, former governor of Ebonyi State, Dr Sam Egwu; as well state party chairmen, including Hon. Augustine Nnamani of Enugu State.