By  SIMON EBEGBULEM
FRESH crisis has engulfed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Edo State, yesterday, as the Deputy Chairman of the party in the state, Mr John Jesuobo, resigned from the party, citing what he described as the alleged dictatorial tendencies of the state chairman, Chief Dan Orbih as reason for his resignation.

He further accused the chairman of alleged refusal to call a meeting of members of the state executive council of the party, adding that the state executive led by the chairman, lacked the focus to move the party forward.

But in a swift reaction, the PDP Director of Mobilization, Mr Paschal Ugbome, has described the allegations as untrue, saying that “his lies about why he is leaving the party is very embarrassing to us and he should not mislead Edo people. What happened was that he came into the party with Isaiah Osifo, which was a product of settlement and harmonization of the party after the crisis. So most of them in that group left the day Osifo left the party so it is no longer news.

“When his mentor Isaiah Osifo failed to clinch the senatorial ticket, he went to Labour Party. So instead of telling Edo people why he left, he is trying to mislead our people. It is very logical that he has to go with his mentor and  boss but he should not be  saying rubbish that he is leaving because the chairman has not been calling meetings.
They came in to the party for the singular purpose of getting the ticket  to the senate. When they failed,  they now resorted to name calling, that is not politics,” he said.

However, Jesuorobo who described Osifo, the former Chief of Staff to the state government as the best candidate for the senatorial seat in Edo South, in the forthcoming elections, said “the failure of the PDP in the state to organise free and fair primaries further reduced the confidence of the public in the ability of the PDP to provide a responsible democratic government.”