At the heart of the latest crisis is a power tussle over the position of National Secretary between Sunday Udeh-Okoye and Senator Samuel Anyanwu. Photo: Radio Nigeria archive
A crisis is brewing in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as internal rifts and sharp disagreements among its leaders cast uncertainty over a controversial National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting slated for Monday.
Following a meeting with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the party on Tuesday reversed its earlier stance on the embattled National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and suspended the planned NEC meeting which had been called without Anyanwu’s consent, a move that INEC had rejected.
The party’s Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagun, at a news conference in Abuja, described the decision as difficult but widely accepted among key stakeholders.
Flanked by the Chairman of the PDP Governor’s Forum, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State; former Senate President Bukola Saraki; and other party stakeholders, Ambassador Damagum announced that the party had resolved to reintegrate Senator Anyanwu into the National Working Committee (NWC).
He explained that the PDP would now hold an expanded National Caucus meeting on Monday in place of the previously scheduled NEC meeting.
But in a swift reaction, a faction of the NWC distanced themselves from the position of the Damagun-led group, insisting that the NEC meeting must hold as scheduled and that Senator Anyanwu could not be reinstated.
The group led by Deputy National Chairman, South, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, claimed that Damagum was attempting to overturn the resolution of the 99th NEC meeting, which scheduled the 100th NEC meeting for Monday, June 30, 2025.
If the split persists, the NEC meeting scheduled for Monday may have to be held without key officials such as the Acting National Chairman, the National Secretary, the BOT Secretary, the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, among others.
The PDP has been beset by persistent internal crises, a wave of defections and unresolved congressional issues in key regions since it lost power in 2015.
Editing by Abdullahi Lamino and Tony Okerafor
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