• Cautions FCT Minister, Wike
By Obinna Uballa
A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has warned that he may quit the party if it fails to take firm action against what he described as “progress terminators” undermining its unity ahead of Monday’s crucial National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
George issued the threat during an interview on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Friday, amid fresh controversy over the party’s zoning arrangements and a disputed Southern stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos.
The PDP leader, who has been a member of the party since its formation in 1998, expressed deep frustration over what he termed indiscipline among some stakeholders. He insisted that the NEC must make “decisive decisions” to restore order or risk an implosion.
“In life, you have those that can be termed as progress terminators and those that can be termed as success accelerators. What we are seeing now is very disheartening. If you want to be a progress terminator, please ship yourself out. The party must be strong enough to take that decision,” George declared.
According to him, the zoning committee set up by the NEC was mandated to consult widely across the six geopolitical zones before presenting its report for ratification. He expressed shock that some stakeholders have rejected the consultations and accused the committee of exclusion.
“This zoning committee was established by NEC to look at the positions in each zone. All the positions in the North remain in the North, and those in the South remain in the South for the next four years. The committee was to hold consultations and report back to NEC.
“But after the meeting, I saw a group of young people saying the process was not inclusive. I was shell-shocked. We cannot continue like this. Those who are tired of the party should leave. Let them go and join another party or start their own,” he said.
The PDP chieftain accused some members of working with external forces to destabilise the party ahead of the 2027 elections, warning that the leadership must restore discipline.
“What people in government are trying to do now is to decimate the PDP. In APC, there is only one man who holds the key, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He said it himself that he owns the party. In our party, nobody owns PDP. It is a collective responsibility,” George noted.
He disclosed that the caucus of the party will meet on Sunday night ahead of Monday’s NEC session, stressing that any attempt to disregard the party’s constitution will not be tolerated.
“Time has come for this party to rise up and take decisive action. If they can’t stand the heat, they should get out of the kitchen. Enough is enough. The party is not anybody’s private fiefdom,” he warned, taking a veiled swipe at Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, whom he described as his “political son.”
“I have told him to take things easy if he wants history to remember him kindly. But when he continues to demean the party and disorganise its processes, can you do that with Bola Tinubu?” he queried.
George’s remarks come amid a fresh split among Southern PDP leaders who have disowned the Lagos “Southern Zoning Consultative Summit” convened by the party’s zoning committee on Thursday.
In a strongly worded statement, state chairmen from Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers, along with National Assembly members and former National Working Committee (NWC) officials, dismissed the meeting as illegal, alleging that it excluded key stakeholders, including some state chairmen and principal officers from the South-East and South-South.
The statement, titled “Re: Purported Meeting of PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit,” insisted that any resolutions from the Lagos summit were “neither binding on nor reflective of the collective will of the PDP family across Southern Nigeria.”
They accused the organisers of attempting to protect “the selfish ambition of a select few” ahead of the November 15-16 national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, and the 2027 general elections.
