The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Enugu State has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of suffering from what it described as “selective mnemonic dysfunction” over conflicting claims about the number of NDC members who allegedly defected to the party.
The NDC State Secretary, Dr. Sebastine Chukwuebuka Okafor, made the allegation on Sunday while reacting to reports claiming that thousands of NDC members in the state had defected to the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Okafor questioned the varying figures attributed to the reported defection, noting that some accounts put the number at 5,000, others at 8,000, while another claimed as many as 10,000 new members.
He described the discrepancies as “politically curious,” arguing that the inability to establish a consistent figure raised questions about the credibility of the mass-defection claim.
The NDC secretary also questioned the reported attendance at the event organised by the PDP to receive the alleged defectors, particularly claims that up to 6,000 people attended the gathering at the Dragon Event Centre.
He claimed the venue could hardly accommodate 300 people, asking how it could have suddenly hosted thousands of people.
Okafor further challenged the PDP to provide verifiable details of the alleged defectors, including their names, wards and local government areas.
“Where are the names, wards and local government areas of these alleged defectors? If more than 5,000 NDC members actually abandoned the party, the PDP should have no difficulty producing a verifiable register. Political propaganda cannot replace evidence, and inflated figures cannot manufacture a political structure that does not exist,” Dr. Okafor said.
He said available video footage from the event did not clearly establish the identity or number of people allegedly received by the PDP.
According to Okafor, the burden of proof rests with the PDP, especially given the significant differences in the figures being circulated about the alleged defection.
“Numbers should be counted, identities should be established, and political claims should be backed by verifiable evidence.”
The NDC official also described the PDP as having been “comatose” in Enugu State since 2023, following what he alleged was the defection of its entire political structure to the APC.
He further claimed that the PDP had lost grassroots support in the state, attributing the alleged decline to what he described as maladministration under its previous administration, which he said contributed to the party’s rejection by residents.
Okafor maintained that the NDC would not be distracted by what he described as attempts to create an exaggerated impression of mass defections through unverified figures and carefully packaged political narratives.
The latest exchange adds another layer to the political contest in Enugu, with the NDC and PDP presenting sharply different accounts of the scale and significance of the alleged movement of party members.
