Leadnaija
A youth coalition within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), under the banner of the Coalition of PDP Youth Defenders (CPYD), has launched a scathing attack on Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, accusing him of playing a destructive role in the crisis engulfing the PDP and contributing significantly to the political instability in Rivers State.
The group alleged that Ugochinyere, a federal lawmaker representing Ideato North and South in Imo State, has been manipulating Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and misleading the PDP leadership with “self-serving and inflammatory commentary,” leading to devastating consequences.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, CPYD President, Comrade Ibrahim Mohammed Salihu, described Ugochinyere as “a merchant of confusion,” blaming him for encouraging the defiance that escalated the standoff between Governor Fubara and his estranged political benefactor, former Governor and current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Salihu said: “It is no longer speculation that Hon. Ugochinyere has been whispering false hope into the ears of Governor Fubara while steering him into avoidable confrontation.
“Today, Rivers State is under emergency rule, the PDP has lost grip, and the people are suffering — all because of one man’s obsession with being the face of rebellion.”
The group referenced the state of emergency declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which saw Governor Fubara and his deputy suspended, with the state now under the control of a sole administrator appointed to restore order.
This unprecedented move, CPYD argues, is a direct consequence of the institutional breakdown fueled by Ugochinyere’s “reckless activism.”
The group lamented that Ugochinyere’s influence emboldened Fubara to reject the efforts of PDP elders and the PDP Governors’ Forum to broker peace with Wike — including a truce mediated and witnessed by President Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa.
“When leaders were calling for caution and reconciliation, it was Ugochinyere who kept pushing Fubara to believe he was the new hero of anti-establishment politics.
“He fed the governor dangerous lies that led to institutional breakdown and refusal to obey an agreement entered into with Wike — and now that the president has stepped in, Ugochinyere is nowhere to be found,” Salihu stated.
Beyond Rivers, the CPYD also accused Ugochinyere of orchestrating chaos within the PDP at the national level — particularly by allegedly working with a clique of anti-party actors to sabotage the upcoming National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for May 27.
The group claimed that Ugochinyere is using the controversy surrounding the role of the acting National Secretary as a “smokescreen” to engineer internal division.
“This is the same Ugochinyere who once claimed to defend party supremacy.
“Now, he’s undermining party decisions and calling for the removal of leaders who don’t dance to his tune. He’s backing Setonji Koshoedo not because he believes in due process — but to throw the PDP into chaos ahead of NEC,” Salihu said.
