Town of Sèmè-Kpodji: Adrien Houngbédji has been abandoned by several of his former lieutenants
The Progressive Union Renewal (“UP le Renouveau”) is going through a leadership crisis in the commune of Sèmè-Kpodji. Since its creation in 2022, resulting from the merger of the Democratic Renewal Party (PRD) of Adrien Houngbédji and the Progressive Union (UP), Joseph Djogbénou’s party is struggling to find its local cohesion.
SUMMARY
The reason: a positioning war between two rival camps, that of Charlemagne Honfo and that of Hyppolite Hazoumè.
This duality has turned the local section of the party into a real “two-headed monster”, weakening any attempt at united mobilization. Despite several mediation attempts initiated by the party president, Joseph Djogbénou, efforts to reconcile the two factions have failed. Each camp continued to defend its interests, in a scattered order.
But today, the situation is changing. As a political departure of Adrien Houngbédji seems to be on the horizon, several figures close to Charlemagne Honfo announce their total break with the staunch followers of the PRD leader. These political actors have made a firm commitment: not to follow the pro-Houngbédji people in their possible new political adventure.
Among the dissenters, weighty figures such as Mathias Gbèdan, former mayor of Sèmè-Kpodji, Noël Akissoé, former deputy and substitute for Charlemagne Honfo in the National Assembly, and the young political leader Charlemagne Honfo himself, now a central figure in this local restructuring.
A high-risk withdrawal for Adrien Houngbédji
If Adrien Houngbédji were to enact the withdrawal of the PRD from the “UP le Renouveau”, he would risk losing numerous lieutenants, not only in Sèmè-Kpodji but also in other key communes of Ouémé, once a stronghold of the rainbow party. It would then be a weakened, fragmented PRD, devoid of its local dynamic forces, which would be left behind, at a time when even the legal existence of this legendary political party remains subject to debate since its merger with UP-R.
The equation is therefore delicate for the former president of the National Assembly: to stay and fight from within at the risk of being marginalized, or to leave with a diminished and contested PRD. In any case, the hour of decision seems to have come for Adrien Houngbédji, as the Beninese political chessboard prepares for new moves approaching 2026.
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