What was meant to be a peaceful meeting snowballed into an exchange of blows as stakeholder of the Imo state chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) engaged in a free-for-all on Tuesday, during its expanded State Working Committee meeting in Owerri
It was gathered that trouble started after some Local Government Area chairmen called for explanations on the recent on goings in the party, after alleging that there were plots to hand over the SDP in Imo state to politicians from other political parties, ahead of the 2023 elections.
The Local Government chairmen insisted tthat members of the Independent National Electoral Commission who were invited to witness the Congress should go, insisting that Congress must not hold unless the internal differences are resolved.
The exchange of words snowballed into a fight when the Oguta Local Government Area chairman, Chidi Oziri, approached his Okigwe LGA counterpart, Nwankwo Maduka, and told him to sit down.
The disagreement, which led to exchange of blows between Oziri and Maduka immediately spread to the other chieftains who attacked each other freely, destroying party equipment and locking the secretariat.
Reacting to the development, an angry the SDP chairman from Owerri zone, Chidiebere Oja, said, “Imo SDP is not for sale. What you saw today is spontaneous combustion of anger by the real members of this party.
“Those who have worked for years to keep this party alive and moving in the state. They got information that politicians from other political parties from the state want to hijack Imo SDP. We will not allow that to happen. We have asked INEC staff members who came to observe the Congress to go because the Congress will no longer hold. We will communicate them when we resolve the internal differences and fix a new date.”
He accused politicians of trying to come into the party from the backdoor, insisting that every plan to disorganise SDP in Imo state will fail.
The state chairman of the party, Ben Anochie, who later addressed the crowd announced that the Congress had been suspended, informing that a new date shall be communicated after the State Working Committee had met.
