By Emamuzo Iboma
The leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has intensified as the Board of Trustees (BoT) firmly rejected the reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as national secretary and nullified the cancellation of the party’s 100th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, in a statement issued yesterday, described the actions of Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, as unconstitutional and void. He accused Damagum of violating the PDP constitution and emphasized that the resolution taken during the 99th NEC meeting to hold the 100th NEC meeting on June 30 remains binding on all party organs and members, in line with Section 31(3) of the PDP constitution.
Damagum had, during a press briefing on Wednesday, announced the return of Anyanwu as national secretary and the postponement of the NEC meeting. However, his move was dismissed by the BoT and other party leaders, who insisted that no single individual has the authority to override NEC decisions, which rank just below the National Convention in the party’s hierarchy.
The dispute over the national secretary position has persisted since December 2024, following court rulings and internal party disagreements. The Court of Appeal upheld Sunday Ude-Okoye’s nomination to replace Anyanwu, a ruling later challenged at the Supreme Court, which referred the matter back to the party as an internal issue. In response, the PDP Governors’ Forum recommended that Deputy National Secretary, Setonji Koshoedo, serve in an acting capacity until the South East PDP selects a substantive replacement.
Damagum’s announcement has further widened divisions within the party, prompting renewed concern over unity and due process. Wabara reiterated that the NEC meeting will go ahead as scheduled on June 30 and that Setonji Koshoedo remains the acting national secretary until properly replaced.
He stressed that the BoT would not allow the party to fall into disarray through arbitrary decisions and called for the preservation of the PDP’s institutional integrity and democratic values. Wabara affirmed the BoT’s role as the party’s moral compass in ensuring stability and order.
