Leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State have rejected the "selection and imposition" of one Bright Abeke as the area’s chairmanship candidate.

This comes as the selection of the PDP chairmanship candidates ahead of the July 13, 2024 Delta State local government council elections continues to generate ripples among party leaders and members.

According to some of the party leaders not happy with the alleged imposition of Abeke, he would not attract significant projects or interventions to alleviate the suffering of the people.

Protesting the selection of the former DESOPADEC (Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission) commissioner as the chairmanship candidate of the party in Sapele, a chieftain of the party who identified himself as Onosakponome Emoghene, said a “strong-worded message had been sent to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori over the issue and the need to rethink the decision”.

He added that as party leaders, they have voiced their concerns about Abeke's alleged lacklustre performance as a DESOPADEC representative and his imposition on party members because of his closeness to the state party chairman, Kingsley Esiso.

He said, "Abeke's selection is undemocratic, our party executives have been inundated with complaints about the undemocratic selection process. Abeke is claiming he was there for a year; that's a lie. The three years he represented this place at DESOPADEC, we have nothing to show for it.

“He did not execute one single project nor did he empower one person. On Monday, some party leaders were forced to assemble at a former commissioner's house to grudgingly endorse Abeke as their candidate. They all left the commissioner's place grumbling up and down.

“Failure to properly manage the backlash could result in a situation where victory is handed over to opponents on a platter of gold."

Also reacting to the alleged imposition of Abeke, a former local government PDP chairman who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed concern that imposing an unpopular candidate on party members could jeopardise the party's chances of victory in the forthcoming elections.

The former local government party chairman said, "We must allow democratic principles to prevail if we truly want to win. You cannot ride on people's backs forever, relying on the mistakes of opponents. We are worried that choosing a chairmanship candidate without a clear mandate from the grassroots structures may hurt mobilization efforts and voter turnout.

“It was grassroots mobilization through popular candidates that delivered vital votes to us in 2015 and 2019. We can't keep relying on opponents’ mistakes to cover for our own."

In his reaction, a ward chairman in Sapele who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being sanctioned, condemned the manner by which Abeke was selected and imposed on the people.

He decried the alleged highhandedness of the state party leadership, saying, "This type of action will destroy our party from within. I am a founding member of this chapter but my voice and the voices of others were totally ignored.

“Unless urgent steps are taken to remedy the situation, it could lead to mass defection of key supporters and loyalists to other parties ahead of the elections. People are really unhappy.

"The choice of Abeke has thrown the chapter into disarray at a time when they should be uniting and consolidating support. Imposing candidates will not work these days. We must allow internal democracy to prevail and picking an unpopular candidate is a really bad choice.”

“If nothing is done fast to address this, we may lose a great number of them, you know with the growing power of All Progressives Congress (APC) here with Chief Igbuya Monday and Delta Central Senator, Ede Dafinone, the repercussion of this decision will be felt in 2027," the ward chairman added.