Former Governor of Benue State and Senator, Gabriel Suswam, has formally resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing prolonged internal crises within the party.
Suswam announced his decision in a resignation letter dated Wednesday, which he personally signed and addressed to the Mbagber Council Ward of Logo Local Government Area. The letter was made available to journalists in Makurdi.
In the letter, the former two-term governor stated that his decision to leave the PDP was taken after deep reflection, stressing that the party had played a major role in his political journey. He expressed gratitude to the PDP for the opportunities it gave him to serve both Benue State and the nation.
“For decades, the PDP provided me with a platform to serve the Nigerian people in various capacities; as a Member of the House of Representatives, as governor of Benue State, and as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Suswam said.
“For these opportunities and the trust reposed in me at different times, I remain sincerely grateful.”
However, Suswam lamented that the party is currently overwhelmed by persistent and unresolved internal conflicts. According to him, repeated efforts by well-meaning party stakeholders to resolve the crises have failed, leaving him with no alternative but to step aside.
He described the PDP as a party that has drifted far from its founding ideals of unity, internal democracy, and progressive opposition. He noted that disputes over leadership, structure, discipline, and ideology have continued to linger without any clear path to resolution.
“The PDP today appears to be perpetually trapped in crisis mode; an institution in political intensive care, with no consensus diagnosis and no agreed treatment plan in sight,” he said.
Suswam added that remaining in the party no longer aligns with his personal convictions and political philosophy, stressing that political parties should be platforms for ideas, discipline, and constructive engagement rather than constant internal battles.
“I therefore consider it honourable and necessary to step aside, while wishing the party well should it one day find the courage and consensus to resolve its longstanding internal contradictions,” he concluded.
He ended the letter by thanking party members at all levels for the years of shared political engagement.
(NAN)