Rivers State is currently grappling with a leadership crisis within the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), as Solsuema Osaro, the state Chairman of IPAC, accuses Aaron Chukwuemeka, the Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of impersonation. According to Osaro, Chukwuemeka is falsely claiming the position of the state chairman of IPAC.
The recent visit to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) by Chukwuemeka and some political party chairmen, including Tony Okocha, the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress, sparked this controversy. The purpose of the visit was to assess the level of preparedness for the upcoming local government election.
Osaro, who leads the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers State, emphasized in an interview with Media Talk Africa that he was legitimately appointed as the state chairman of IPAC by the national leadership following the dissolution of the previous executives, headed by former PDP chairman, Ambassador Desmond Akawor, in 2023.
The SDP chairman called for Chukwuemeka’s resignation from the PDP leadership, accusing him of deceiving the public. Osaro made it clear that he assumed the role of IPAC chairman on July 26, 2023, in line with the national leadership’s decision, and branded Chukwuemeka as an impostor and unfit for his position.
In 2023, Media Talk Africa obtained a letter from the national IPAC leadership confirming Osaro as the new chairman of IPAC in Rivers State and announcing the dissolution of the Akawor-led executives. The dissolution stemmed from the executives’ endorsement of a single gubernatorial candidate for the March 18, 2023, election.
The conflict within IPAC in Rivers State raises concerns about the integrity of political party leadership and the potential implications for the upcoming local government election. As the situation unfolds, the state’s political landscape is fraught with tension, casting a shadow over the credibility of the electoral process.
