A stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Abia State, Augustine Uchenna Stephen on Friday, dumped the party, alleging that the party ‘is not in order’.
In a resignation letter addressed to the state Party Chairman and his Ward Chairman in Ubakala Ward B, Umuahia South LGA, Stephen said he made the decision after wide consultation, even as he did not disclose the next political party he would join.
The resignation is coming a few days after the immediate past Deputy Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Ifeanyi Uchendu quit the PDP and joined the APC at Isiama Ward in Ohafia, where he also praised the performances of two APC Federal lawmakers, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu.
A resignation letter written by Augustine Stephen Uchenna, a copy which was sighted by DAILY POST, read in part
“I wish to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party, with effect from the date of this letter. This is for personal reasons, after wide consultations with friends and members of my family.
According to Stephen, he does not want to be associated with a party that is not doing well, adding that he was satisfied with the performance of the present administration in Abia State.
Some members of the party in Umuahia South who reacted to Uchenna’s resignation expressed surprise at his decision to dump the PDP.
However, the Abia State chapter of the PDP has maintained that the party is intact and very active.
The Party in a statement signed by Ugwumba Adiele, the Special Assistant on Media to Abia State Chairman of the PDP, Alwell Asiforo Okere, said the exit of a few politicians from the party did not mean that PDP had collapsed or died.
Adiele who was reacting to a call for the resignation of the State Party Chairman, Alwell Asiforo Okere by a group known as Abia PDP Network, described the group as Faceless, pointing out that the PDP would remain a leading opposition party in Abia.
He described the sealing of the PDP State Secretariat as a political witch-hunt but said that the sealed Secretariat did not in any way affect the running of the party.