Orbih Takes Up Gauntlet to Reposition Edo PDP, Donates New Party Secretariat as Gulf Widens

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It was all lamentation and regret on Wednesday over the present sorry state of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State as the National Vice Chairman, South-South Zone of the party, Dan Osi Orbih handed over a new state party Secretariat he donated to leaders and members of the main opposition party in Edo.

The new Secretariat is located at No. 175, Airport Road, Benin City.

Orbih, who accused the immediate past governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki of destroying the PDP and everything good he met before leaving office, challenged him to come back and account for his stewardship.

Orbih also sent a stern warning to the Dr. Tony Aziegbemi-led state Caretaker Committee of the party to stop issuing statements on its behalf because such a body is alien to the PDP constitution.

The former state chairman of the party stated that they can no longer speak for the party having collaborated with the former governor to destroy the party.

Orbih, who is also the leader of the PDP Legacy Group in Edo, said, “People are mocking the PDP and asking where they are, but I can tell you today that PDP in Edo is back”.

Noting that the party became homeless following their eviction from their former secretariat in January by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the SS Zonal chairman said party leaders and members reached out to him, expressing their disappointment, and he therefore promised them a befitting secretariat in response to their complaints.

According to him, “A few weeks ago, I made a promise in one of our meetings that I was going to donate a Secretariat to the Party. I can tell you after today, we can go back home and say it was a promise made, and a promise fulfilled.

“You know and I know that PDP cannot be a homeless party. On January 17, 2025, our Caretaker Chairman Hon. Tony Aziegbemi, was chased out from an office along Airport Road, Benin City. And from January 17, 2025, to this very day, Edo PDP has no state Secretariat.

“Many leaders and very concerned members of our great party in Edo State have been reaching out to me, expressing their disappointment over that sad incident.

“It was arising from their calls that I promised that I was going to donate an office to Edo PDP.

“On this great day, as we just celebrated the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem; on this great day, we celebrate the triumphant opening of the PDP state Secretariat today in Edo State.

“I want to use this opportunity, and with the official handing over of this Secretariat to Edo PDP, we are going to put an end to that sad chapter when we have not been with a party Secretariat for the past four months.

“As we mark this historic event, I want to send a very loud message to Jarrett Tenebe, the APC Chairman, he should not come here. If he comes here, he must be prepared to declare for PDP”.

Giving an indication of a widening gulf in the troubled opposition party, Orbih distanced the Legacy Group from those loyal to Obaseki, who he claimed joined him to destroy the party, asking them to stay away.
He said, “I have been seeing some statements lately by one who calls himself either Acting Secretary of the party and the other one calls himself the acting Publicity Secretary of the party.

“I want to state here in my capacity as the National Vice Chairman, South South of the PDP, those people have no stand in PDP.  They are pretenders. From today, we will stop to entertain any statement by any character outside those who will manage the party from today in Edo State.

“Let me use this opportunity to say that I have observed with disappointment certain characters masquerading as acting caretaker committee members of Edo State PDP.

“Today, I want to publicly declare that those who collaborated with Godwin Obaseki, to kill PDP in Edo State, cannot be caretaker; they are undertakers. Undertakers cannot take care of anything.

“They are those who buried the party in Edo State. I want to use this event to tell them to stay away.

“It is time for us to rebuild, reconstruct, and reposition Edo State PDP. Obaseki came into our party to destroy our party and some of these characters were calling him all sorts of names, like “wake- and-see, emanton, technocrat”.

Daring the former governor, he said, “I, Chief Dan Orbih, the National Vice Chairman, South South of PDP, I hereby challenge Obaseki to comeback to Edo State and give an account of his Stewardship.

“He killed our party; he destroyed governance in Edo State. They told us wake-and- see, what did we see today? Destruction. Obaseki destroyed everything that was good in Edo State before he left office”.

Calling on the national leadership of the PDP to rise to the occasion and rebuild the party, Orbih said, “I want to use this opportunity to send this message to the acting national chairman of our great party, this is the time for him to rebuild our party.

“He should roll out a programme for the Congresses that will throw up new leaders in Edo State. We can no longer tolerate these characters who collaborated with Obaseki to kill our party.

“I looked back, and I feel sad that this is where we are today as a party. A party that once had two serving Senators, majority of the members of the House of Representatives, today, we have no senator, we have only one member in the House of Representatives. And even the governorship is gone to APC.

“How do you want us to feel as a party? Edo people are reaching out to me, but I want to also tell them that Obaseki, with the characters that collaborated with him to kill our party, they represent the worst side of PDP as a political party.

“They don’t represent PDP. These are people who have a history of betrayal. These are people who turned against those who helped them to power.

“We must at this moment put our past behind us and let us look forward to a brighter future together. I will collaborate with genuine and loyal members of this party who believe that this party must not die, who believe that the future of Edo State is our collective effort; to collaborate with others who believe in the progress and development of Edo State”.