A fresh crisis has erupted within the Edo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), as the party’s national vice chairman (South-South), Chief Dan Orbih, and a factional caretaker chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, clash over the recent defection of the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Addressing journalists in Benin, Aziegbemi dismissed the defection as unsurprising, claiming that Agbebaku had long been a covert supporter of the APC.

“The speaker’s move wasn’t driven by ideology or conviction. It was about personal ambition and self-preservation,” he said, describing the APC rally welcoming Agbebaku as “a desperate spectacle designed to impress the president and APC national leadership.”

In a swift rebuttal, Chief Dan Orbih, in a statement, accused Aziegbemi of lacking the moral authority to comment on the party’s affairs, alleging that he had presided over one of the most destructive periods in the history of the Edo PDP.

“His attempt to scapegoat Speaker Agbebaku for the party’s current crisis is both unfortunate and dishonest,” Orbih said.

He said the speaker—like many others—had become disillusioned with what he described as the reckless mismanagement of the party by Aziegbemi and his political ally, former Governor Godwin Obaseki.

He accused the Obaseki-Aziegbemi leadership of running the party with “greed, arrogance, and a blatant disregard for democratic principles,” which he claimed had left the PDP in disarray.

Orbih called on Aziegbemi to step aside and allow the current leadership to focus on rebuilding the party in Edo, stressing that, “The time for self-serving political games is over.”