Eleven members of the national working committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have rejected the return of Samuel Anyanwu as national secretary.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Umar Damagum, acting national chairman of the PDP, said Anyanwu will resume as the party’s national secretary.
Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi and chairman of the PDP’s Governors’ Forum; Abba Moro, lawmaker representing Benue south and minority leader of the senate; and other party officials, were present during the press conference.
The acting chairman also said the planned national executive committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for June 30 will no longer hold.
Anyanwu, an ally of Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), was affirmed after members of the PDP NWC and several governors met with Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and other senior officials.
In a joint statement, the 11 NWC members said Anyanwu was not reinstated as the party’s scribe and that the NEC meeting will be held on June 30.
“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),” the statement reads.
“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.”
The NWC members are Taofeek Arapaja (deputy national chairman, south), Setonji Koshoedo (acting national secretary), Ahmed Mohammed (national treasurer), Okechukwu Daniel (national auditor) and Debo Ologunagba (national publicity secretary).
Others are Woyengikuro Daniel (national financial secretary), Ali Odefa (national vice chairman, south-east), Emmanuel Ogidi- (caretaker committee chairman, south-south), Amina Bryhm (national woman leader).
Hayatu Gwarzo (national vice chairman, north-west), and Ajisafe Toyese (national vice chairman, south-west) make up the list.
In May, the PDP wrote to the electoral body over its plan to hold the NEC meeting at its national secretariat in Abuja on June 30.
The notice, signed by Damagum, was in line with the electoral umpire’s 21-day notification requirement for political meetings of such magnitude.
However, in a letter dated June 13 and addressed to the party’s chairman, INEC said the notice of the meeting failed to comply with its regulations.
The commission said the notice of the proposed NEC meeting ought to have been jointly signed by the party’s national chairman and secretary.
But Ologunagba said the party would go ahead with the NEC meeting, noting that INEC’s approval was not required for the PDP to hold the gathering
