The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State is currently facing mass exodus of its members as well as supporters over rumours that the leaders of the Party at the State and Local Government levels are coerced to join the Ogboni Fraternity.
This is coming on the heels of wide reports that members of the Local Government Exco who were sponsored to Dubai to watch the World Cup were made to fill the membership forms of Ogboni and newly initiated members among them were given $6000 each.
A privilege source who was part of the group that just returned from Brazil revealed this while expressing his regrets for joining the Party.
He also confirmed that members of the State Exco who are currently in Dubai under the pretext of going for 'Capacity Building' are there to endorse their total support for the Exco led by Felix Obuah as well as the leader of the Party in the state, Nyeso Wike.
Meanwhile, there have been allegations of party members and those who want to benefit from contracts being forced to join the cult group. Unfortunately, due to the level of poverty in the country, many persons are forced to join the group in a bid to ensure their daily bread.
The mass movement from PDP is said to be a matter of time as was the scenario in 1999 when the man who was sure to have won the governorship election, Ebenezer Isokrari lost to Peter Odili due to the former's membership of the Olumba Olumba Brotherhood.
It is said that the issue of PDP being described as an Ogboni Party has become a subject of discourse in most churches especially the Catholic, Protestant and the Pentecostal churches. So many men of God in the state have vowed not to relent in their prayers and warnings to their members never to support any known member of the Ogboni Fraternity.
Though, accusing fingers point in the direction of the leaders of the Party in the state but none of them has come out to publicly deny their membership of the cult group.
- Ben West
