….The party claims that it ignored the warning and rocked the boat itself.
Written by Steve Orko
Former Senate President and Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Adolphus Wabara, has expressed deep regret over the party’s poor performance in the Rivers State local government elections held on Saturday. expressed.
In an interview with Vanguard, Senator Wabara blamed internal divisions for the PDP’s failures and said failure to heed wise advice led to the party’s defeat. He pointed to the ongoing political crisis in the state as the main reason for the party’s defeat.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has announced that the Action Peoples Party (APP) has won 22 of the 23 chairperson seats, although results in Etche Local Government Area are still being tallied. RSIEC Chairman Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd) has confirmed that the results for 319 parliamentary positions across local government areas of the state will be announced after collation.
Wabara lamented that this is the first time in recent history that the ruling party in Rivers State, which has been dominated by the PDP since 1999, has lost its grassroots influence to a lesser-known political party.
“This is unprecedented in the recent history of local government elections where the ruling party and the governor’s party lost their grassroots organization. PDP shot itself in the foot. It means PDP has lost Rivers State both physically and literally,” Wabara said.
He expressed doubts about the chances of the PDP winning back the state in the 2027 elections and regretted that the warnings of party elders about the crisis had gone unheeded.
“We foresaw this happening and warned our key players, but instead of heeding our advice, they ridiculed us. Now the consequences are clear for everyone to see.”
Mr. Wahara stressed that the results of the local government elections are a reminder that political parties must not take the will of the people for granted. He called on party stakeholders to make the necessary sacrifices to rebuild and reposition the PDP for the 2027 elections.
“I believe we have learned the hard way, but it is not too late. We must come together as a family, resolve our differences and strive to come out even stronger in 2027. ” Mr. Wahara concluded.
