The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently mired in confusion over whether its rescheduled 100th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting will still hold as planned.
This followed a decision by Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, to turn the NEC meeting into an expanded caucus meeting and reinstate Senator Samuel Anyanwu as national secretary.
The party’s Board of Trustees, BoT, and National Working Committee, NWC, have insisted the NEC meeting must go ahead, stressing that the 99th NEC meeting had resolved that the dispute over the national secretary be settled at the next NEC.
They accused Damagum of going beyond his powers and worsening the internal crisis.
Sources told newsmen yesterday that this latest development has deepened divisions in the party.
Factions loyal to FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, are backing Anyanwu, while supporters of Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde, are standing by Acting National Secretary, Setonji Koshoedo, for now and Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the long-term replacement.
The dispute intensified after a Supreme Court ruling on March 21, 2025, in the case of Senator Samuel N. Anyanwu v. Aniagwu Emmanuel & 3 Ors. (SC/CV/18/2025).
The court treated the issue as an internal party matter but failed to end the disagreements.
Damagum’s move to reinstate Anyanwu and cancel the NEC meeting has angered many PDP leaders, who said the move was against the party’s constitution and undermined NEC’s authority.
PDP Southeast Vice Chairman, High Chief Ali Odefa, told Vanguard that the leaders of the party in the region were still discussing the matter.
“You will hear from us. We are yet to meet. When we meet, you will hear from us,” he said.
Meanwhile, a PDP member who supports Damagum defended the decision, saying the party needed to meet the demands of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“I’m baffled by the resistance to Anyanwu’s reinstatement. INEC made it clear that without the national secretary’s signature, our FCT election preparations are stalled, risking our credibility as an opposition party.
“The attempt to cancel the NEC meeting was a practical move to address this urgency. Why not hold a smaller caucus meeting to resolve the INEC issue and then proceed with the NEC? This endless bickering only weakens us at a time we need to show strength,” he said.
But a member of the NWC, one of the 11 officials who opposed Damagum’s actions, disagreed sharply, saying “Damagum’s unilateral reinstatement of Anyanwu is a blatant violation of the PDP constitution and an affront to the NEC’s authority, which explicitly deferred this decision to the 100th meeting.
‘’His attempt to cancel that meeting undermines the very foundation of our party’s governance. The NEC, as our highest organ, must resolve this issue, and no individual, no matter his position, can override its mandate. We risk losing our democratic principles if we allow this.”
Another party insider, who warned that the crisis could hurt the PDP badly, said: “This crisis is tearing the PDP apart at a time Nigeria needs a strong opposition. It’s painfully clear this is a power struggle between Wike’s camp, pushing Anyanwu to tighten their grip, and Makinde’s faction, defending their own interests. These factional battles, with Anyanwu caught in the middle, make us look disorganized and weak.
“If the NEC meeting doesn’t unite us, we’re handing our opponents a free pass in the FCT election and beyond. We must put the party first.”
Efforts to get a response from the party’s National Organizing Secretary, Umar Bature, were unsuccessful at press time.
Meanwhile, the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the party has strongly criticised the acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, accusing him of overstepping his authority and violating the party’s constitution.
This came on a day a chieftain of the party, Bode George, dismissed claims that Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, controlled the party.
This is even as the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday deferred hearing on a suit seeking to validate Senator Samuel Anyanwu’s position as the national secretary of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, till September 22, 2025.
The party’s BoT chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, made the declaration yesterday, following Damagum’s unilateral decision to cancel the planned 100th National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting and reinstate Senator Samuel Anyanwu as national secretary.
He emphasised that NEC remained the party’s highest decision-making body after the National Convention, adding that Damagum’s actions had no legal standing within the party’s framework.
“By virtue of Section 31 (3) of the PDP Constitution, the resolution of the NEC at its 99th meeting to hold its 100th meeting on Monday, 30th June, 2025, is binding on all organs and members of the PDP,” Wabara declared.
He also described Damagum’s attempt to reverse the National Working Committee’s, NWC, appointment of Arc. Setonji Koshoedo as acting national secretary as improper and unconstitutional.
“The decision of the NWC at its 600th meeting directing the deputy national secretary to act as national secretary remains valid, having not been set aside by the NWC or NEC. The attempt by Amb. Damagum to overturn that decision is a gross abuse of office,” he asserted.
The BoT warned that such unilateral actions could push the party into deeper crisis and undermine internal democracy.
He stated: “The Board of Trustees, being the conscience of the Party, cannot stand idly by and watch the party descend into chaos through acts of impunity, unilateralism, and disregard for constitutional procedures.’’
To resolve the situation, the BoT reaffirmed three key decisions: That the 100th NEC meeting will go ahead on 30 June 2025 as scheduled; that Arc. Setonji Koshoedo remains acting national secretary; and that all members must respect the supremacy of the party’s constitution.
“No individual interest is greater than the institutional integrity of the PDP. The BoT, as the moral compass of the party, will continue to defend due process, uphold party supremacy, and protect the democratic ethos upon which the PDP is founded,” Wabara stressed.
This internal crisis is unfolding at a crucial moment for the PDP as it prepares for it’s national convention in August.
VANGUARD
