About 50 prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State have urgently called on Governor Agbu Kefas to take immediate action to prevent the party from collapsing.
This appeal was made in a petition addressed to the Governor and the State party chairman, dated July 4, and seen by our correspondent on Monday.
The 50 signatories, including a serving Commissioner for Waste Management and Resource Innovation, Bernard Shonzon, the immediate past Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. David Ishaya, the immediate past Chairman of the Local Government, Joseph Sanweri, along with other former Council Chairmen, Secretaries, House of Assembly members, Commissioners, and Councilors from the area, accused Danladi Gwampo of trying to take over the party in the area for his personal gain.
The petitioners expressed their dissatisfaction with Danladi Mohammed Gwampo’s leadership style, accusing him of monopolizing the party’s operations in the area and running it as a one-man show. They believe this significantly contributed to the party’s poor performance in the most recent elections.
According to the stakeholders, Gwampo’s autocratic style resulted in the PDP losing a crucial House of Assembly seat to the opposition in the last election.
Part of the petition read, “There are individuals who are eager to join our party, but Gwampo, who has hijacked the registration materials, has vowed to stop them from registering as members of the party.
“Additionally, the party failed to secure a victory in a key House of Representatives by-election. Most strikingly, despite the over 90,000 registered voters in Yorro, the PDP managed to gather only about 15,000 votes for Governor Kefas in the last election, which is unprecedented.
“Yorro has been a stronghold for the PDP in the local government areas in the northern zone, but we are losing out because of Gwampo’s leadership style.
“We urge Governor Kefas to intervene in the situation urgently. Gwampo’s actions have not only hurt the party’s performance but if not addressed, the party’s prospects for the upcoming 2027 elections could be jeopardized.”
The stakeholders are requesting the governor to direct the council chairman and ward chairmen to allow new members to join without letting the process be controlled by a single individual.
They also demand that party activities should henceforth be conducted openly and not at a private residence, as is currently being done.
Punch