Stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South East have dismissed a recent meeting held at the Enugu State Government House as illegitimate and of no consequence to the party’s affairs.
The stakeholders, who met in Abuja, said the Enugu gathering was convened by Ali Odefa, whom they described as a factional leader and no longer recognized as the PDP National Vice Chairman (South East).
According to Chidiebere Egwu, the factional vice chairman, the meeting lacked legitimacy and was a “nullity.”
Egwu reiterated the group’s unwavering support for Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s authentic National Secretary during the Abuja meeting.
The South East PDP has been embroiled in a leadership tussle between Anyanwu and former National Youth Leader Ude Okoye, with the Odefa camp backing Okoye and the Egwu faction standing with Anyanwu.
Odefa was reportedly suspended and subsequently expelled by his ward executives in Ebonyi State last year, a move upheld by a Federal High Court in Abakaliki.
In his place, the PDP in Ebonyi recommended Chidiebere Egwu, further deepening the factional crisis within the party in the region.
The Abuja meeting included prominent Southeast PDP leaders, including former Abia State Governor Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, Senator Michael Amah Nnachi, Senator Paulinus Igwe Nwagu, Hon. Jones Onyeriri, Zonal Legal Adviser Barr. Ukpai Ukairo, Zonal Organising Secretary Rt. Hon. Mike Ahumibe, and PDP chairmen from Imo and Abia states, among others.
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In a communiqué issued after the meeting, the stakeholders reaffirmed their call on the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) to obey the Supreme Court judgment that recognized Senator Anyanwu as the legitimate National Secretary.
They also urged the public and party members to disregard the Enugu meeting orchestrated by Odefa.
Additionally, they demanded the immediate conduct of congresses in Ebonyi and Anambra states, which currently lack valid State Working Committees. The communiqué further cited several court rulings affirming Odefa’s expulsion and called on the Zonal Working Committee to initiate contempt proceedings against him.
The stakeholders concluded by urging party members to support the reconciliation efforts led by former Senate President Senator Bukola Saraki to restore unity and resolve the ongoing leadership crisis for the party’s survival.
“We, PDP South East stakeholders comprising BOT members, National Working Committee members, former Governor, Senators, Honourable members of House of Representatives and House of Assembly Members, past and present, the National Vice Chairman, South East and Zonal Working members and major high net worth members of the PDP across the States in the South East hereby, resolve thus:
“We commend the leadership of the PDP for setting up the Dr. Bukola Saraki-led Reconciliatory Committee and we are hopeful that the outcome will be in line with the legal status of the state of affairs in the PDP as espoused in the constitution and decisions of the courts, and that major gladiators would abide by the outcome.
“It is hoped that the vile aim of the outcome of said meeting held at Government House, Enugu directed by the conveners and attendees at sabotaging the effort of the Reconciliatory Committee would come to naught.
“The Supreme Court has settled, with finality, the status of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, and it is on record that the INEC has, rightly, given effect to the said judgment, which is the right thing to do.
“In view of 2 above, we hereby serve a note of advice that, in the administration of the PDP, it is impossible to ignore the lawful status of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the PDP and any attempt to stand against this clear position of the law will cause irreversible political damages because INEC would not give effect to the outcome of conventions, congresses and primary elections that do not have the signature of the lawful National Secretary.
“In the same breath, it is important to stress that the Deputy National Secretary can only act in the absence of the National Secretary as evident in the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“The clear and express provision of the PDP Constitution is that the offices of the National Secretary and Deputy National Secretary are not conjunctive. Accordingly, the pathway of directing the Deputy National Secretary to act in a situation where the National Secretary is not absent is an endorsement of illegality, which cannot stand legal scrutiny.
“We, therefore, call on the National Working Committee and in particular, the Acting National Chairman, to abide by the clear provisions of the Constitution of the PDP and comply with the Supreme Court judgment to steer the Party on the path of legality.
“The PDP is a political party that evolved on the altar of constitutional democracy, founded on respect for the rule of law. On this note we demand that the Board of Trustees, the conscience of the party, and the Governors Forum must give full effect to the tenets of rule of law, and the manifest implication of this historic burden, is that both bodies, do not have a choice other than to respect the status of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the lawful National Secretary.