Dan Orbih

By Jethro Ibileke

The crisis rocking the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), worsened on Wednesday, following the inauguration of a parallel secretariat office by one the fractional leaders of the party, Chief Dan Orbih.

Orbih donated the campaign office of former Deputy Governor of the State, Philip Shaibu, who has since defected to the APC.

Recall that the State Acting Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jarret Tenebe, had on January 17, 2025, chased the Dr Tony Aziegbemi-led faction of the party out of their secretariat located along Airport Road.

The Caretaker Committee of the party, led by Aziegbemi, has since been operating from a hotel located in the GRA.

Speaking at the inauguration of the new Edo PDP Secretariat, Orbih said that his gesture was borne out of the several appeals he received from members of the party.

He described the Caretaker Committee members as masqueraders and and undertakers who collaborated with former Governor Godwin Obaseki to bury the PDP.

He said:
“I have been seeing some statements lately, by one who calls himself either Acting Secretary of the party and the other one calls himself the acting Press Secretary of the party.

“I want to state here in my capacity as the the National Vice Chairman, South South of the PDP, those people have no stand in PDP.  They are pretenders. From today, we will stop entertain any statement by any character outside those who will manage the party from today in Edo State.

“Let me use this opportunity to say that I have observed with disappointment certain characters masquerading as acting caretaker committee members of Edo State PDP.

“Today, I want to publicly declare that those who collaborated with Godwin Obaseki, to kill PDP in Edo State, cannot be caretaker, they are undertakers. Undertakers cannot take care of anything.

“They are those who buried the party in Edo State. I want to use this event to tell them that to stay away.

“It is time for us to rebuild, reconstruct, and reposition Edo State PDP. Obaseki came into our party to destroy our party.”

Orbih lamented the loss of key electoral position by the party during the last national elections

“I looked back and I feel sad that this is where we are today as a party. A party that once has two serving Senators, majority of the members of the House of Representatives, today, we have no senator, we have only one member in the house of representatives. And even the Governorship is gone to APC.

“How do you want us to feel as a party? Edo people are reaching out to me, but I want to also tell them that Obaseki with the Characters that collaborated with him to kill our party, they represent the worst side of PDP as a political party.

“They don’t represent PDP. These are people who have a history of betrayal. These are people who turned against those who helped them to power.

“We must at this moment put our past behind us and let us look forward to a brighter future together. I will collaborate with genuine and loyal members of this party who believe that this party must not die,” he added.