No fewer than 300 aggrieved members of the Imo State Peoples Democratic Party took to the streets on Monday in protest of alleged irregularities that trailed the just concluded ward and local government congresses in the state.
Acting under the umbrella of the Coalition of True Imo PDP Democrats, the protesters stormed the PDP state secretariat in Owerri around 9am, in buses from the 27 LGAs of the state.
They chanted solidarity songs even as they rained invectives on those they accused of rigging the congresses.
Specifically, they said some politicians were out to rig the congresses in order to favour their interests ahead of the 2019 general election.
Some of the placards read, “To hell with congress manipulators,” “We condemn bribe takers,” “Sheriff, leave us alone,” “Orlu zone not for sale,” “PDP in Ideato-South says no to impunity,” among others.
A petition by the protesting members, which was signed Mr. Tony Mbaegbu, called on the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Modu Sheriff, to redress the allegation of disenfranchisement during the congresses.
In the petition titled, “Flawed PDP congresses in Imo State,” the aggrieved members said it was injustice on the path of those who conducted the congresses to disenfranchise party men and women who had hoped to elect their leaders during the congresses.
The petitioners said, “One had thought that the era of impunity was over in the PDP but we had a replication of the same pattern of impunity that created the problems we are having today.”
Mbaegbu, who also addressed the crowd of protesters, saw his speech being interrupted with ovations by the aggrieved members.
