Former Abia State governor, Senator Theodore Orji, has formally resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
His resignation was conveyed in a letter addressed to the PDP Chairman of Umuahia Ward 1 and released to the media on Saturday.
Orji, who served as governor from 2007 to 2015 and represented Abia Central in the eighth and ninth Senate, initially emerged as governor under the Progressive Peoples Alliance, PPA. He later left the party in 2011 following a prolonged dispute with his predecessor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, and subsequently joined the PDP.
He completed his second term as governor on the PDP platform and later secured two terms in the Senate, also under the party.
The former governor’s exit comes amid a wave of defections that shook the PDP in 2024. His son, former Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Chinedum Orji, had earlier defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, while his wife also left the PDP months earlier.
In his resignation letter, Orji wrote: “I write to formally tender my resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, with immediate effect.
“This decision follows extensive consultations with my family and close associates.
“I remain grateful for the opportunities and experiences gained during my membership of the party. Please accept this letter as formal notification of my withdrawal from the PDP.”