A leadership squabble is brewing between governors elected on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over the scheduled return of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s national secretary.
Anyanwu was defeated in the just concluded governorship election in Imo State on November 11.
Prior to his defeat, he was under pressure to relinquish the position of national secretary and focus on his governorship efforts.
Sunday Udeh Okoye, a former PDP national youth leader, was selected by the South-east to succeed Anyanwu, but the power struggle prevented him from taking office.
However, a Federal High Court sitting in Enugu State ordered the PDP to replace Senator Anyanwu as National Secretary in October, but the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) did not execute the decision.
Last Tuesday, when the NWC was about to swear in Okoye, Anyanwu was claimed to have raced to Abuja, causing the ceremony to be canceled.
Anyanwu presented the PDP National Working Committee with a court order instructing him to resume his duties as national secretary.However, the governors intervened, delaying his return. According to a source close to the PDP governors, Anyanwu was halted to prevent Wike from seizing complete control of the party’s leadership.
In response, PDP acting National Chairman Ambassador Illya Damagum stated that Anyanwu would not take office until the contradictory court orders were settled.
He said: “Since there are conflicting court orders, we urged the two sides to stand down and we have agreed and appointed the Deputy National Secretary to continue to act as Secretary pending the time, we will resolve all the issues; the conflicting court orders and resolutions of the South-east. So, there is no conflict and we are together and thinking together on this issue.”
The tussle over the position of the national secretary started when the chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Adolphus Wabara wrote to Anyanwu to hand over the office of National Secretary and concentrate on his campaign as a governorship candidate of the party in Imo State.But Wike disagreed and openly tongue-lashed Wabara.
According to Wike, the BoT of the PDP did not have the authority to declare who could occupy the office of national secretary of the party.Wike also expressed dismay that the former senate president referred to Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as “former governor of Imo State” in his letter to the acting chair of the PDP.
In his letter to the acting national chairman, Wike said: “Your Excellency, permit me to observe with respect that the Board of Trustees (BoT) lack the moral authority to intervene on the issue of who occupies or should occupy the Office of the National Secretary of the Party,” the minister wrote in his response to Wabara.
Wike continued, “More so as the BoT was unable to use its good offices as the conscience of the party to intervene in the crises that engulfed the party in the run-up to the 2023 general election when officers of the party blatantly violated the constitution of the party.
“Secondly, the Acting Chairman of the BoT is reminded that the issue of who occupies the position of National Secretary of the party is beyond the BoT’s sphere of authority and influence.”
Wike was said to have single-handedly influenced the emergence of Anyanwu.