By Muhammad Mamman
The crisis within the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has deepened, with loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, electing a parallel state executive led by Nosa Ogieva.
Ogieva and 13 others, operating under the Legacy Group, were sworn in during the faction’s 2025 state congress held in Benin City on Sunday. Out of the 14 positions, 11 officers were returned unopposed, while Tony Aziegbemi, Henry Tenebe, and Victor Enoghama contested for chairman, secretary, and deputy chairman respectively.
A total of 576 delegates from the 192 wards across the state participated in the exercise.
In his acceptance speech, Ogieva pledged to reunite the party and restore its electoral strength.
“Our emergence marks a new dawn for the Edo PDP. We are here to reposition and rebrand the party to make it victorious again,” he declared, urging members to set aside their grievances and work in unity.
Leader of the Legacy Group and former PDP National Vice Chairman (South-South), Dan Orbih, blamed former Governor Godwin Obaseki for the deep divisions within the party.
“We had a united PDP where everyone related as brothers and sisters until Obaseki joined. He came in and destroyed everything that was good in the PDP, leaving our umbrella torn and shattered,” Orbih said.
He claimed that the party’s poor performance in recent by-elections was a direct reflection of Obaseki’s unpopularity and leadership failures.
“For the first time in our history, governors, senators, and House members are leaving the PDP daily due to failed leadership,” he lamented.
Orbih further accused the rival faction loyal to Obaseki of plotting to defect to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing them as “undertakers praying for the PDP’s collapse.”
He urged party delegates to support credible and principled leaders capable of rebuilding the PDP, warning that those who “sell out or deny members their rights” should have no place in the reformed party.
