State Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Cross River State, Dennis Nkiri, State Secretary, Tony Edako, Women Leader, Florence Inyang, are among a notable number of officials of the PDP in the state who signed a communique that sacked State Party Chairman, Venatius Ikem.
We gather that arising from a Zoom meeting of the party, 17 PDP chapter chairmen out of 18 and 25 out of the 26 State Working Committee officials, appended their signatures to a document and forwarded same to the party’s headquarters in Abuja, accusing Ikem of incompetence and mismanagement of party funds, among other allegations.
Sources inside the party pointed us to a recent huge cash donation to the party from the governor of a neighbouring state and how the money went under the radar, angering party men and women who had thought the figure would be mentioned to them and then judiciously used to plug loopholes in the party.
They were also levelled complaints about Ikem’s leadership style, with members claiming he has undermined the party’s progress and cohesion within the state. The decision to remove Ikem, one party source informed www.calitown.com, “had to be taken in the best interests of the party.”
Austin Edibe, picked as replacement for Ikem, immediately said, in a written statement that: “This moment calls for healing, reconciliation, and a renewed commitment to our shared ideals as the People’s Democratic Party.”
“As I step into this role, I promise to work tirelessly to strengthen our Party’s structures, re-energize our grassroots mobilization efforts, and rebuild the trust and confidence of the people in the PDP. I will lead with fairness, transparency, and a commitment to excellence”, he concluded.
