Abia PDP Guber Primary Crisis Deepens As John Okiyi Kalu Team Alleges Deceit, Betrayal

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party in Abia State deepened on Thursday after the media team of Chief John Okiyi Kalu released a detailed statement accusing party leaders of orchestrating deceit and betrayal during the party’s controversial governorship primary election held on May 25, 2026.

In the statement titled “Abia PDP Gubernatorial Primary Election: Deceit And Betrayal Are Not Virtues,” the team alleged that the party’s state chairman, Amah Abraham, repeatedly assured Chief Okiyi that he had been endorsed as the consensus governorship candidate by former governor and party leader, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu.

According to the statement, the assurances led the former Abia commissioner to suspend planned consultations and strategic engagements with party members ahead of the primary election.

The team claimed that suspicions began to emerge after reports surfaced that some party leaders in Obingwa Local Government Area and Abia South Senatorial Zone were allegedly directed to support Kelechi Anosike instead.

Chief Okiyi’s camp said they alerted Dr Ikpeazu about the development and were allegedly told that the former governor never authorised such actions.

The statement further alleged that members of the election committee were secretly hosted overnight alongside Mr Anosike, and that huge sums of money were exchanged to influence the outcome of the exercise.

According to the media team, Amah Abraham allegedly directed local government chairmen to support Anosike by promising financial rewards.

The camp of Chief Okiyi also insisted that they were never formally informed about the modalities for any direct primary election, nor invited to submit agents or witness the collation of results.

“AT NO TIME WERE WE ASKED TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY DIRECT PRIMARY ELECTION,” the statement read.

The team maintained that the process was deliberately designed to mislead their principal, while arrangements had allegedly already been concluded in favour of another aspirant.

Despite the allegations, the statement said Chief Okiyi would not pursue legal action or petitions over the matter.

The former commissioner was quoted as saying he would not fight party leaders if they had genuinely chosen another candidate, but urged Dr Ikpeazu to act if his name was used without authorisation.

The statement also revealed that Chief Okiyi had instructed his supporters to remain calm while awaiting further consultations on the way forward.

The media team added that it possesses audio recordings, videos, and text messages, which it may release if any part of its claims is disputed.

The PDP leadership in Abia State had yet to officially respond to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.

The controversy is the latest development in the internal crisis facing the party ahead of the 2027 governorship election in Abia State.