The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will convene on Wednesday, January 29 to address the ongoing leadership crisis threatening to further divide the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
At the heart of the dispute is the battle over the position of National Secretary, currently contested between Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye.
The matter, now before the Supreme Court, has deepened the rift within the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC), splitting the leadership into two factions.
Acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum is reportedly aligned with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, while the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, is linked to Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed. The internal conflict has led to sharp divisions, with party stakeholders taking sides.
Meanwhile, a separate meeting of PDP South-East leaders held at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja, presided over by Anyanwu, saw key SoSouth-Eastigures, including BoT member Chris Ubah, pass a vote of confidence in him as the party’s legitimate National Secretary.
Conspicuously absent from the meeting were Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, BoT Chairman Adolphus Wabara, and Senator Austin Akobundu.
Anyanwu, defending his claim to the position, accused former PDP South East Vice Chairman, Ali Odefa, of orchestrating a plot to remove him by misleading Enugu State Governor Mbah.
He alleged that Odefa fabricated election guidelines to justify calls for his resignation and secured a court ruling from an Enugu High Court declaring his position vacant.
However, a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja on January 9, 2025, reaffirmed Anyanwu as the legitimate National Secretary until December 9, 2025, when his tenure expires.
Following the meeting, South East PDP Legal Adviser, Ukpai Ukairo, reiterated that Odefa had been expelled from the party and had no authority to convene PDP meetings or influence leadership matters.
