As the suspension and alleged expulsion of Senator Samuel Anyanwu heats up Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the party’s congress, Chris Njoku in Owerri reports that the matter, which has created ripples within the party in the state, is now before national leaders of the party
THE feud between former Senator representing Imo East Senatorial District, Samuel Anyanwu, popularly called Samdaddy and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State came to the fore after the 2019 governorship primaries conducted by the party in the state.
Anyanwu came second in the election, held at the Kanu Nwankwo Sports Centre Owerri, with a total vote of 1,282, while Chief Emeka Ihedioha was declared winner having polled 1,723 votes.
However, the Senator from Ikeduru described the exercise as a flop and slap on democracy, by calling for a cross examination of the Imo PDP gubernatorial primary electoral committee, headed by Senator Emma Chiedoziem Nwaka.
He said while briefing newsmen at his Divine Mandate Movement office along Okigwe road, Owerri that what happened on the primary Election Day was the major reason that put PDP where it has been in the past eight (8) years.
He alleged that there was over voting and that some people that were not qualified were given tags against party guidelines and resolutions for the primary elections.
The aggrieved senator therefore proceeded to court to challenge the process.
In a motion on notice (Exparte) Anyanwu filed at the Owerri High Court on October 10, dated October 9, he included the Independent National Electoral Commission, the PDP and Ihedioha as defendants.
The writ of summons was signed by Justice M.T. Salihu, who directed that Ihedioha be served even through substituted service.
He pushed up the case to the Supreme Court where it was struck out for lack of merit.
A five-man panel of the court, in a unanimous judgment upheld the earlier concurrent judgments of the trial court and the Court of Appeal, Owerri, in favour of Ihedioha on the grounds that Anyanwu did not prove his case.
Anyanwu had faulted Ihedioha’s victory at the PDP governorship primary, but the trial court held that he could not prove his allegations of manipulation, thuggery, among other vices, which he claimed marred the process.
Justice John Okoro, in the lead judgment, dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit and awarded a N200, 000 costs against the appellant.
Having done with that, he allegedly threatened to work for All Progressives Congress (APC), a threat we gathered, made the national leadership to weigh the implication for the party and thus decided to placate the senator by giving him a return ticket to the Senate. But Ihedioha and others kicked against it, pointing out that there were other contenders who had bought forms when Anyanwu contested the governorship primaries.
The senator, it was alleged, decided to work against the PDP candidate during the governorship election with so many PDP members alleging that he was being used by the then Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, to further destabilise the PDP in Imo State.
This allegation, sources said, was used by the PDP leaders to nail Anyanwu at the ward level where his townsmen and party officials took decision to suspend him and his mother, Virginia Anyanwu, and 11 other ward officials indefinitely.
They were suspended by his ward, Amaimo in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State. His mother, Virginia, was the party’s Woman Leader in the local government.
In a letter dated 31st July, 2019, and addressed to the Ikeduru LGA chairman of the party, the ward executive committee said the decision was based on the recommendation of the committee inaugurated by the ward to look into the allegations of anti-party activities against the senator and the others.
In the report submitted by an investigative committee headed by Chijioke Anyanwu and Felix Orji, Chairman and Secretary respectively, the suspended persons were accused of canvassing for votes and voted for the opposition in virtually all elections in disregard to party directives and objectives.
It therefore recommended that, “in line with the party’s constitution, we hereby recommend that section 58 (1) of offences and sanctions be evoked against these officials who, according to our investigation and deductions have contravened the above section ranging from sub-section (a-m) and are liable to sanctions under section 59(1) of the party’s constitutions.”
Other members suspended are former State Legal Adviser, Uche Igbokwe, ward chairman, Joseph Ugwulebo, ward treasurer, Patrick Onyejiuwa, and the ward Women Leader, Paulina Onumajuru.
Others were the ward provost, Anthony Anyanwu, assistant financial secretary, Larry Omekannaya, Reginald Onuoha, auditor, Godson Anyanwu and Chidi Nwaigwe, Vitalis Anyanwu and Magnus Okoro all of who were former ward officials.
Anyanwu described the suspension as the handiwork of mischief makers, stressing that with his status in the party, the ward does not have the power to suspend him from the party.
“The party, at the state, zonal and national levels, is not aware of that. The fact is that I am a national officer of the party and even the state party cannot suspend me without the knowledge of the national. So, I enjoin people to disregard it as it is merely the handiwork of mischief makers,” Anyanwu said.
Battle with the State Chapter
But the power tussle continued. The state leadership also accused Senator Anyanwu of collaborating with the former governor of the state, Senator Rochas Okorocha, to sack the immediate past governor, Emeka Ihedioha, from office. Ihedioha was sacked by the Supreme Court on the 4th of March 2020 after spending just eight months in office. At this point, it was gathered that the party leadership could no longer bear his alleged sins and so finally nailed him by expelling him from the party.
However, Anyanwu dismissed his expulsion from the party saying that as one of the foundation members of the party who rescued the party from possibly going into extinction in the past and also ran a robust campaign for the 2019 governorship campaign in the state; he had no intention whatsoever to abandon the party that brought him to political limelight.
The senator, who spoke to newsmen at his private residence in Owerri, said that the media reports of his expulsion was politically motivated.
“Those who claim to have expelled me from the PDP have no locus standi or power to do so because I have neither been invited to appear before any disciplinary committee of our party, neither have I been invited by the party for any anti-party activity.
The whole thing was politically motivated to edge me out of the forth coming congress of our party in the state by those who are afraid of my growing popularity and acceptability.
As a Senator, I am a national officer of the party and so nobody can expel me without the INEC ratifying it, not even a governor of a state”.
He stated that those who reportedly signed his expulsion letter in his Amaimo ward, Ikeduru Local Government Area are not even members of the party, adding that any expulsion against him must secure the blessing of the national leadership of the party.
“Right now, both the chairman and secretary of the party in my local government area have said that they do not know anything about the purported letter of my expulsion from the party and I can assure you that these things are nonsense and do not bother me. I advise those behind this rubbish to go to God and pray for Him to forgive them,” he said.
Southeast PDP leaders to the rescue?
Backing Anyanwu, the Southeast wing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently nullified the purported expulsion.
On Tuesday after South East zonal meeting of the PDP governors, Senators and House of Representatives members, among other top members of the party, met last Sunday in Enugu, the leaders in a release said the senator’s expulsion did not follow due process.
The party noted that as a national officer and member of the national executive committee of the party, the state (Imo State PDP chapter) did not have the right to expel Senator Anyanwu.
The party however said that Anyanwu never appeared before any disciplinary committee, adding that the state wing of the party did not have any right to expel such a member, who never appeared before any disciplinary committee.
“No member of the party should be expelled from the party, no matter the reason so that the party can excel in the forthcoming election in 2023”.
“Our stand has nullified the sack saga on Anyanwu and others in both Imo and Anambra states. We repeat; the state cannot expel any member from the party without clearance from the national secretariat,” the leaders said.
The Nation also gathered that the senator has taken the case to the national leadership of the party, alleging that the state leaders are deliberately angling to edge him and his supporters out of the state congress.
Insiders and concerned observers said during the week that given the depth of mistrust and disagreement between Anyanwu and the leaders behind his travails in the state, it remains to be seen how this matter would be resolved and the final effect it would have on the party’s impending state congresses.
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