On Thursday, February 5, 2025, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) came alive in Delta state, with the inauguration of its Caretaker Committee, headed by Prof. Sylvester Monye, from Onicha-Ugbo.
And it didn’t do so not quietly, as it created waves, reports Saturday Vanguard. It made a noise that was so loud that it was heard all over Asaba, the Delta State capital and beyond, reverberating across the entire the Delta state – borne on the wind of person to person social media conversation.
First, the crowd; only about 1000 seats were put place in the OPAL Event Centre when I looked around the venue, having just arrived from Abuja on Wednesday February 4.
The event, the swearing-in of the Caretaker Committee was not supposed to be a crowd-pulling event as only a few persons would be sworn in.
But a day later, just 30 minutes into the event, over 2000 people had crammed into the hall and more persons stood outside and some took solace in the buildings on either side of the venue. Hundreds of chairs had to be hired from outside.
A carnival was on; the crowd inside the OPAL Event Centre was singing and dancing as speaker after speaker thanked the attendees for keeping the PDP faith, for believing in the party and vowing that Delta State belongs to PDP and they will take back the state from those who betrayed the party and jumped ship.
They said that the PDP has never lost an election in Delta state, and that the unenviable record will still be maintained in 2027.
The organisers were almost overwhelmed. They were heard discussing how to manage the huge crowd. There was no provision for any form of entertainment, not even sachet water, let alone food or money to be shared among the attendees.
Yet, when the event ended, everyone left in an orderly manner; no attendee asked for anything.
The setting could not have promised the kind of gigantic success that the event turned out to be. Since April last year, the PDP had been silent in Delta state.
Wave after wave, individuals began to queue up behind the Governor of Delta state, Sheriff Francis Orowhedor Oborevwori in decamping from the party to APC. Worst of all, he and his aides trumpeted that they decamped with the entire party structure. All across the state, PDP meetings were no longer being held. Everything about the party went dead.
Then suddenly, a few weeks ago, in the midst of clashing and conflicting court rulings that all the more should have demolished the confidence of the PDP faithful everywhere, the National Working Committee (NUC) named some individuals into the Caretaker Committees to handle the affairs of the party in certain states, including Delta State.
Delta State’s turn to swear in her Caretaker Committee arrived on Thursday. As the people took their seats waiting for the compere to announce the opening of the event, one inspired man just went up to the front of the hall, took the microphone, began some small talk that developed into a song. “Na our party be this ooo, we no get another one” (this is our party, we have no other one) he intoned.
The lusty reply reverberated from all across the hall: “Na our party be this ooooo”. For the next ten minutes, the call and answer song continued.
It was like all the people needed was that reminder; the PDP name appeared to have done the magic and the hall became animated. I later went to ask that man his name; “Johnbull, representing the good people of Ughelli South, Ughelli North and Udu Federal Constituency”he said. He set the ball rolling, he energized the place and that fire never went out.
That was it; those who were still outside rushed in. From there, the hall was lit up only by fire – not just light. One after the other, speaker after speaker, the PDP party leaders who kept the faith, who have stayed the course, who have vowed to go nowhere else, who have said they will remain in PDP come rain or fire began to work up the crowd into a frenzy. It was as though the people in the audience had missed such a gathering since almost a year ago when the party affairs ceased in Delta state. It was as though they were once lost but now had not only been found; they were home.
Elder Emma Ogidi, Chairman for the South-South geopolitical zone, was called up to speak. He had been a rider in the political storm for the Delta PDP for over 20 years. This former Chairman, Delta state PDP, was in the trenches with former Delta state Governor James Onanefe Ibori (1999-2007) when another person, Chief Obielum, contended with Ibori for the control of the party. In the end, Ogidi defeated his arch-rival, Mallam Obi, handsomely.
On Thursday, Ogidi showed part of the stuff he is made of. He said that those who rode on the train of the PDP in Delta state into relevance and later dumped the party that made them, have only shown the quantum of ingratitude in them, and he reminded the crowd that ingratitude is a sin both in heaven and on earth. He said that those who now strut the political turf as lords of the manor, came into the PDP “with singlets as the only clothes on the backs. The PDP washed them up, clothed them and showed them the way. And the next thing they did was to show ingratitude to the party”.
Ogidi, who said he started off working in Warri as a teacher in 1973 said that greed had blinded some people. He said that his initial salary was N36. But today, some people are stealing billions and they are still not satisfied. They keep stealing.
But One thing our parents told us is don’t stain our family name. My father told me “no spoil my name ooo” (don’t spoil my name ooo”). He said that “family name is very important, and PDP is the only party in Nigeria that has not changed its name. It has not changed its logo. The PDP is still people oriented and its ideology has remained the same”.
Taking to pidgin English, he said that about decamping from PDP that “na only those who no understand, na them dey take such steps (it is only those who don’t understand, that take such steps). He said that those who understand know that life requires patience, sacrifice, and the like and so should not be in a hurry to burn down the house in which they were nurtured. He said, “those when dey commot, ask them why them dey commot sef. It is not because of anything wholesome. But there is one thing wey God no like (there is something God hates). Na ingratitude (It is ingratitude).
He said that many of the ingrates who left the the PDP had only bicycles then. Many of them were nobodies when they came. The PDP made them what they are. But where are they
today?
As applause after applause punctuated his speech, he exhorted the audience to maintain the right course they have chosen because victory will be PDP’s in 2027. He said that those who left the PDP and thought they were going up, they will meet us here when they come down”.
Chief Ejiofor Onyia, PDP Board of Trustee Member was even more trenchant than Ogidi in denouncing those who decamped. He said that they betrayed the party because the PDP “nurtured them, supported them and did everything for them, but they dumped us. From 1999 the PDP has been the dominant party in this state. We had fought off all opposition to a standstill. We defeated them. Then all of a sudden, the people you put into power abandoned you. But I am looking at the crowd here, this great crowd. It shows that you guys have integrity. I never expected this crowd. It reminds me of the past. PDP was so strong that it never lost election in Delta state. Whoever was nominated we supported him and we won the victory. But then we were left in the cold. People with principle, those with ideology don’t jump from party to party. Unless you are a political prostitute, you don’t jump about anyhow”.
After him, his BOT colleague, Dr. Esther Uduehi took the stage and further electrified the audience. She, too, took the people down the memory lane. She thanked the audience and tasked them to carry the message that PDP is alive and will remain alive to every part of the state. She mocked those who had been “boasting about 2027 to remember that some people once boasted that nobody could stop Abacha but God intervened”.
Chief Clement Ofuani, a former Commissioner in Delta State also electrified the hall with his well-applauded speech. He said that that the future beckons as the PDP is being re-positioned to regain its strong hold on Delta politics.
Speaking on behalf of the members of the Caretaker Committee, the Chairman, Prof Sylvester Monye, said that his mission is clear, to steer the PDP ship in the state with true internal democracy to enable the PDP to regain its former strength as the true people’s party, strong and vibrant, where democracy rules and favoritism and “bigmanism” will have no place.
He said he will steer the ship for three months after which a free and fair election will take place for all party posts. He said that he will give the party back to the people because when a people know that they truly own the party, they will back that party with all their strength. He said that under his watch, nobody will dictate to the people and no candidates will be imposed but that the will of the majority will always decide issues as well as who gets to hold what position. He assured that with this as the party’s new foundation, “victory will be PDP’s in 2027 because PDP is in Delta state DNA and Delta state is a PDP state”.
Many PDP state chairmen such as Anambra’s Mr. Chidi Chidebe, who is also the chairman of Forum of all PDP state chairmen, Akwa-Ibom’s Barr. Igwat Imoren, Ebonyi’s Hon. Onyi Peter Nwele, brought good will messages to Delta PDP. Elder Ogidi, who represented the PDP National Chairman, Dr. Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), swore in the Caretaker Committee members: Prof. Sylvester Monye – Chairman with Ujor Ucheonny, Comdr. Johnbull Aghogho Kenairu – Member, Jackson Agbor, Onajega Mike, Chief Ekiyor Charles, Hon. Mrs. Vero Egbuna, Chukwunonso Alex Ndah and Walter Uguoye as members.
