The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) South-South Zonal Working Committee on Tuesday wielded the axe, dissolving the Solomon Agwanana-led Bayelsa State Working Committee and replacing the Edo State Caretaker Committee headed by Dr. Tony Aziegbemi.
The decision, taken after a closed-door meeting at the party’s zonal secretariat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was presided over by the National Vice Chairman (South-South), Chief Dan Orbih.
The committee cited “gross misconduct, ineptitude, and mishandling of internal disputes” as justification for the sweeping changes.
New caretaker teams have been appointed to steer both chapters for an interim period of three months—a move seen as consolidating the influence of allies of the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, despite objections from the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC).
The shake-up follows Orbih’s public rebuke of the Aziegbemi-led faction on 16th April 2025, when he inaugurated a new party secretariat in Edo and warned the ousted executives against further claims to legitimacy.
In Bayelsa, George Turnah—a staunch Wike loyalist and coordinator of a planned pro-Tinubu rally—was installed as caretaker chairman, replacing Agwanana. Political analysts view the restructuring as a thinly veiled purge to entrench Wike’s factional control.
A statement by Zonal Publicity Secretary Etim Isong framed the overhaul as necessary to “stabilise and reposition” the party after its “disastrous performance” in Edo’s recent gubernatorial poll.
“The decision to set up caretaker committees for both states follows the dissolution of the Bayelsa State Working Committee and the Edo State Caretaker Committee due to various acts of gross misconduct by the dissolved executives—acts that clearly breached the party’s constitution—as well as the party’s poor performance in the last Edo governorship election and the mishandling of internal crises in both states,” the statement read.
It added that the zonal committee took the decisions after a careful review of developments in both states, invoking provisions of the PDP constitution as amended in 2017—specifically Articles 10(1)(f)(g)(k), 10(4), 26(2)(a), 27(2)(a&b), 58(1)(a)(c)(i)(j), and 59(1)(f).
Other members of the new Bayelsa caretaker committee include Tony Gabriel as deputy chairman; former Ijaw Youth Council spokesman Ebilade Ekerefe as secretary; and Didi Werilaghebofa as vice chairman (Central). Andy Majors was named vice chairman (East); Evelyn Bolouebi Odi, vice chairman (West); and Biobelemoye Ogoniwari, treasurer.
In Edo, Ehisota Oriakhi was appointed vice chairman (Central), Richard Ehimigbai as vice chairman (North), Benjamin Ehinlebodiaye as treasurer and William Usman as Legal Adviser.
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