Edo PDP Crisis Deepens as Dan Orbih Faction Commissions New Secretariat

The crisis within the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has escalated following the commissioning of a factional secretariat by the Chief Dan Orbih-led Legacy Group in Benin City. Orbih, who serves as the National Vice Chairman for the South-South region of the party and the Chairman of the Governing Council at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, said the move was necessary after the party was evicted from its original secretariat by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Orbih explained that the PDP has been without a state secretariat since January 2025, when its former chairman was ousted from the office on Airport Road. This eviction, according to him, left the party homeless and without a base of operations. He emphasized that the commissioning of the new secretariat was part of his promise to the party’s members to provide them with a fitting office space.

“A few weeks ago, I made a promise in one of our meetings that I was going to donate a Secretariat to the Party. So today, we can go back home and say it was a promise made and a promise fulfilled,” Orbih said. He further asserted, “PDP cannot be a homeless party,” and expressed relief at the opening of the new secretariat, which he hoped would end the party’s period of instability and lack of a permanent headquarters.

During the event, Orbih also directed criticism at the Edo PDP Caretaker Committee, accusing its members of overstepping their roles by issuing statements on behalf of the party. He argued that the Caretaker Committee, which he claimed is not recognized by the party’s constitution, had lost legitimacy due to its collaboration with the former governor, which he believed led to the party’s current weakened state. He pointed out the decline of the party, noting the loss of two serving senators and the majority of the House of Representatives seats, as well as the governorship race to the APC.

“I want to state here in my capacity as the National Vice Chairman, South-South of the PDP, those people parading themselves as members of the Edo PDP Caretaker Committee have no stand in PDP,” Orbih declared. He concluded by asserting that from that point forward, only those aligned with his faction would be recognized as managing the party in Edo State.