Intractable dissent triggers uncertainty over PDP NEC Meeting

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been enmeshed in intractable dissent between divergent blocs, which triggers uncertainty over the 100^th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for Monday, June 30.

The NEC meeting has been canceled by a faction of the PDP in alliance with the acting National Chairman, Umar Illiya Damagum; including the reinstatement of the suspended national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu. Other power blocs opposed the resumption of Anyanwu as announced by Damagum, and insist that the NEC meeting will hold as schedule. The Damagum bloc had replaced the cancelled NEC meeting with expanded Caucus meeting of the party on June 30.

Anyanwu, a political tool in  the PDP friction 

The emergent modified polarization of the PDP became evident after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rejected the request letter from the party leadership to hold its 100th NEC meeting on June 30, citing the absence of the signature of the party’s national secretary.

Accordingly, PDP leaders, on Tuesday, held a consultative closed-door meeting at the INEC Headquarters, Abuja, on the way out of the quagmire.

The meeting, National Daily Newspaper gathered, was attended by the PDP acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, former President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki; and the governors of Bauchi, Zamfara, Plateau, and Oyo states.

Thereafter, Umar Illiya Damagum, at a media briefing at the PDP National Secretariat, Abuja, on Wednesday, declared that Samuel Anyanwu has been reinstated as PDP National Secretary, urging him to resume duty.

The acting National Chairman also postponed indefinitely the scheduled National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for June 30; noting that the PDP would rather hold an extended caucus meeting.

PDP leaders present at the chairman’s media briefing were identified to include Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, Chairman, PDP Governors Forum; Senate Minority Leader and Chairman, PDP caucus in the National Assembly, Senator Abba Moro; former President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Senator Seriake Dickson – PDP Bayelsa State; Hon Umar Bature, PDP National Organizing Secretary; and Kingsley Chinda, House of Representatives Minority Leader, among others.

The Deputy National Chairman, South, Taofeek Arapaja, led another bloc in the PDP to counter the acting national chairman and his bloc; rejected the reinstatement of Anyanwu as national secretary, and insisted that the 100th NEC meeting must hold on Monday as scheduled.

Taofeek Arapaja, in a statement cosigned by other PDP stalwarts, who include Setonji Koshoedo, Acting National Secretary; Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary; Woyengikuro Daniel, National Financial Secretary; High Chief Ali Odefa, National Vice Chairman (South East); Emmanuel Ogidi- Caretaker Committee Chairman (South South); Mrs. Amina Darasimi D. Bryhm, National Woman Leader; Senator Hayatu Bello Gwarzo; Hon. Ajisafe Kamoru Toyese, National Vice Chairman (South West); on Wednesday, countered the decisions of the PDP Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, arguing that he “acted wrongly by trying to cancel the planned meeting and also in trying to reinstate the erstwhile National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, whose suspension only be overturned by the PDP NEC.”

The statement read:  “The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to a press briefing by the Acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, today, Wednesday, 25th June, 2025 wherein he attempted to overturn the resolution of the 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which scheduled the 100th NEC meeting for Monday, 30th June, 2025.

“The Acting National Chairman in the said press briefing also reportedly announced that Senator Samuel Anyanwu has been asked to resume as National Secretary of the Party, contrary to the resolution of the 99th NEC meeting which referred all matters relating to the office of the National Secretary to 100th NEC meeting.

“The pronouncements by the Acting National Chairman have no foundation as no organ of the Party (including the NWC), individual or group has the power to cancel, overrule, veto or vary the resolution of the National Executive Committee (NEC) under the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).

“For the avoidance of doubt, the NEC is the highest decision-making Organ of the Party, second only to the National Convention. By virtue of Section 31 (3) of the PDP Constitution, the resolution of the NEC to hold its 100th meeting on Monday 30th June, 2025 is binding on all Organs, Officers, Chapters and members of the Party and no Organ, group or individual can vary or veto this resolution of NEC.

“Furthermore, the claim by Amb. Damagum that Sen. Samuel Anyanwu has been asked to resume office as the National Secretary of the Party is, therefore, misleading being contrary to the resolution of NEC.

“In the light of the foregoing, the 100th NEC meeting as scheduled for Monday, 30th June, 2025 has not been cancelled or postponed.”

Subsequently, the PDP Board of Trustees aligned with the Taofeek Arapaja bloc; reprimanded the PDP acting national chairman over the cancellation of the June 30 NEC meeting and resorting to expanded Caucus meeting; including the reinstatement of Anyanwu as national secretary.

The PDP BoT Chairman, former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, in a statement indicated that elders of the party considered the actions of the Acting National Chairman to be gross violation of the PDP Constitution.

According to Wabara, “NEC, being the party’s highest decision-making body after the National Convention, had already fixed the 100th NEC meeting date at its last gathering on May 27, 2025, and no one has the authority to countermand that resolution.”

The PDP BoT Chairman further maintained that the reinstatement of Anyanwu by Damagum contravened a Supreme Court judgment and previous decisions by the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), which had directed the Deputy National Secretary to act in that role.

Exacerbating the friction in the party, an assemblage of deputy national officers, in a joint statement, declared support for the acting national chairman on the postponement of NEC meeting, as well as the reinstatement of Anyanwu as national secretary.

Paradoxically, the configuration of the conflagrations in the PDP may have degenerated stalemate in the administration of the party, everyone at war with no one to regulate. Even if the NEC meeting holds, not all stakeholders are likely to attend and decisions at such meeting could trigger further crisis. And when the meeting does not hold, the crisis remains endemic.

Investigation by National Daily Newspaper shows that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may have provided the Nyesom WIke/Sam Anyanwu bloc with potent legal and regulatory tool to offset the mainstream PDP with the insistence on an acceptable national secretary.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, was cited to have remarked on the controversy over the PDP National Secretary thus:

“In the last couple of months, we received letters from the party saying that one Sunday Udeh-Okoye was the secretary.

“Thereafter, the party changed its mind and said it was Samuel Anyanwu.

“Thereafter, the party changed its mind to say that it is Setonji Koshoedo. And again the party changed its mind to say Anyanwu.

“The last letter from the party actually had no secretary at all. It was only signed by the chairman which we responded to.”

Moreover, Nyesom Wike, FCT Minister, and ally of Sam Anyanwu, was cited to have scolded the PDP Acting National Chairman, Damagum, on his directive of Anyanwu resume office.

According to Wike, “I watched on national television and heard the acting national chairman directing the national secretary to resume.

“The national secretary is not your appointee. You can’t ask him to resume because of the illegalities you’re perpetrating.”