The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State has suspended its governorship candidate, Jude Ezenwafor, accusing him of anti-party behaviour and poor participation during the recently concluded state election.
Announcing the decision on Tuesday, November 11, after a meeting of the State Executive Committee (SEC) in Awka, the state chairman, Chidi Chidebe, said the suspension would last one month pending the outcome of an investigation by the party’s disciplinary committee.
Chidebe alleged that Ezenwafor “did not campaign in any ward, local government area, or across the state throughout the election period,” adding that his conduct raised serious concerns about his loyalty to the PDP.
He said, “His unconvincing and fabricated story of an alleged assassination and extortion of genuine party members, including his own running mate and other manipulative behaviours, were unbecoming of a candidate of our great party.”
According to the chairman, Ezenwafor also formed a “parallel gang of impostors, mostly non-members of the PDP, to unlawfully interfere with and perform party functions.”
“In light of the above and after due deliberation, the SEC resolved that Mr Jude Ezenwafor is hereby suspended from the PDP for a period of one month with immediate effect,” Chidebe said.
He further disclosed that the matter had been referred to the state disciplinary committee for a detailed probe and recommendations, while the National Working Committee (NWC) had been formally notified.
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Chidebe said the NWC was advised “not to grant Ezenwafor or his collaborators any further access or recognition as their activities are clearly aimed at destabilising the party.”
He noted that Ezenwafor’s disinterest in the campaign forced the party to direct all local government and ward executives to support PDP candidates at other levels to avoid total failure in the poll.
“This collective effort was the major reason our party was able to secure a total of 1,401 votes, as officially declared, placing the PDP sixth among the 16 political parties that participated in the election,” Chidebe explained.
He added that the governorship candidate “secured only one vote in his own ward, Nnobi Ward 3, Idemili South Local Government Area, which has 12 polling units. This abysmal performance represents the worst result for PDP in any ward across the state.”
The party, he said, remains focused on rebuilding its structure and restoring internal unity under the leadership of Ambassador Umar Damagum.
According to the official election results, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won the poll with 422,664 votes, followed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) with 99,445 votes.
The Young Progressives Party (YPP) came third with 37,753 votes, while the Labour Party (LP) polled 10,576. The PDP came sixth with 1,401 votes.