PDP crisis deepened as two lay claims to office of national secretary

…Party denies Anyanwu

The ongoing battle over the authentic national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has further polarised the party, as Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Udeokoye, are laying claims to the position.

As of the time of filing this report, the atmosphere around the Wadata Plaza, the national secretariat of the party, was tense as security men worked round the clock to avert a blood bath between the supporters of the two party officials.

Recall that on December 20, 2024, the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, gave its judgment in a case of appeal filed by Anyanwu and his lawyers against an earlier judgment of the Enugu High Court, which announced Sunday Udeokoye as the authentic national secretary of the party.

The Appeal Court affirmed the judgment of the Enugu Court and on that ground, Udeokoye, last week assumed office, in compliance with the court judgement.

But on Monday, Anyanwu and his team stormed the party premises and also assumed duties, claiming a court order of ‘ stay of execution’ on the Appeal Court judgement.

The party, however, rejected claims by Samuel Anyanwu, that the court has given an order for a stay of execution on the Appeal Court judgment, affirming Sunday Udeokoye, as the party’s authentic national secretary.

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Debo Ologuagba, the party’s national publicity secretary, declared this in the party’s reaction to the use of thugs to invade the party’s secretariat and subsequent resumption of office by Anyanwu, in violation of the Enugu Appeal Court judgment.

Anyanwu, who stormed the party’s Wadata Plaza secretariat, Abuja, with his protesters, on Monday, forcefully entered the office of the national secretary, which was taken over last week by Udeokoye, heightening political tension, leading to the invitation of security agencies to protect the party and staff.

Ologuagba, in a statement, said the party did not receive any stay of execution, describing ‘Anyanwu’s resumption as ‘unfortunate.’

“This not the time for the party to go through this kind of embarrassing situation, we are a country of rule of law and order.

“PDP will continue to do what is in the interest of the party, in accordance with the law and the constitution. Don’t forget that the judgment was a declaratory, and cannot be stayed. It’s clear.”

“If you have a stay of execution, it’s a process. You have to serve the parties involved. As I said, the party has not received either a notice of motion for a stay or been served a stay of execution.

“I don’t know where that is coming from, but the party has a process. When the document comes in, I will be made aware through the legal adviser. As we speak, I have no information at this time that the party has been served either a motion for stay or a stay of execution.

“I am not going to predict what the party will or will not do. I know very well that when you have a stay of execution, there’s a process. When you apply for a stay, there is a motion you must have filed and served before the court can listen to that motion and take action.

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“As I speak to you, this party has not received a motion on notice for a stay application, nor, to my knowledge, has the party received a stay order granted by a court of competent jurisdiction.”

The party described the drama as ‘unfortunate’, adding that “what is more condemnable is the attempt to resort to self-help.

“We have information about the activities of thugs from Niger State. We are privy to the communication involved, including the emails that were sent by bank transfer. We have details of that.

“All of these were done at the behest of Senator Anyanwu. Unfortunately, a former senator should be a lawbreaker. There is a process; let’s agree on the rule of law. We have no personal issues with him. I don’t think the party has personal issues. He went to court and appealed the case but did not let the process proceed

“As I’ve said before, we don’t do self-help. It’s a process. We are a law-and-order party, and because we are a law-and-order party, that is why we don’t act impulsively.

“We see the hand of the third force in this matter. We are upset that, unfortunately, some members of the party are being used by the ruling party to disturb us so that the party will have issues going into the next election because of the fundamental failure of the APC.

“Having said that, we are a party of law and order; we will follow through with the process. We don’t do self-help. We are not in a jungle.