Mass Resignation Hits South East PDP over National Secretary Position

Tony Icheku in Owerri

Several top ranking national officers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Imo State, representing the South-East zone, yesterday, resigned their positions.

This development, however, followed the resignation of a former Imo State governor,  Hon Emeka Ihedioha, from the party on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, citing the lingering controversy over the position of the PDP national secretary.

National officers from the State whose resignation had been confirmed included Chief Chris Okewulonu, a Board of Trustees, BoT member; four zonal officers including Mr. Stanley Ekezie, ex-officio Zonal Officer; Chief Austin Okeke,  Zonal Publicity Secretary; Chief Emeka Nwokeke, Zonal Organising Secretary and   Mrs. Ruth Nkwocha,  Zonal Woman Leader.

In addition, three state officers and a local government chairman have resigned. They were Mr Kissinger Ikokwu,  State Legal Adviser; Mazi Emenike Nmeregini, State Publicity Secretary;  Chief David Abanihi, State Assistant Treasurer and Hon Sambazz Iheaturueme, Obowo LGA Chairman

Other top ranking officers of the party who had exited were Hon Obinna Onwubuariri, former member of the House of Representatives; Mr Chibuzor Agulana, former Aboh/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency candidate for House of Representatives.

Others were Prof Obioma Iheduru, Hon Mrs Amarachi Owuamanam and a host of others, all totalling 22 members.

Chairperson of the PDP Board of Trustees,  Senator Adolphus Wabara, had in his remarks at the recently concluded NEC meeting, said, “Furthermore, the contentious issue surrounding the office of the National Secretary, has regrettably sown seeds of discord within our party.

“The ambiguity surrounding this position has led to confusion and internal strife, hindering our collective efforts to pursue our noble objectives.”

Specifically, the bone of contention in Imo PDP is a tussle for supremacy between Ihedioha and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, PDP’s National Secretary on one hand and the South-East PDP caucus and the National Executive Council, NEC on the other hand.

The South East PDP caucus, rising from its February, 2024 Zonal Executive Committee meeting, had urged the NEC to ratify Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary, in line with the zone’s decision and a valid court order.

The South East PDP in its communiqué issued at the end of the meeting in Enugu maintained that Udeh-Okoye was the zone’s choice for the position and accused the party’s national leadership of mistreating the zone by neglecting their earlier nomination.

They insisted that they would no longer tolerate the delay in ratification of Mr Udeh-Okoye as the party’s national secretary at the meeting chaired by  Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State alongside PDP National Vice Chairperson, South East, Ali Odefa.

Senator Wabara, in his remarks, said he was pained that the national leadership of the party had treated the South-East zone of the party with levity.

Odefa, who read out communiqué at the end of the meeting stated: “The meeting reiterated and reconfirmed its decisions in its earlier meeting held on 20th October 2023, which asked Senator Samuel Anyanwu to stop parading himself as the National Secretary of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), as he has relinquished the office by virtue of the constitution of the PDP, which has been upheld by a court of competent jurisdiction.

“The meeting affirmed the nomination of S.K.E. Udeh-Okoye as his replacement for the National Secretary of the party, to serve out the remainder of his term, in accordance with the party’s constitution.”

In the communiqué, the PDP leaders, citing Section 47 of the party’s constitution, argued that Anyanwu had automatically resigned his position as the national secretary by picking the party’s ticket to contest for the Imo State governorship election held in November 2023.

They also contended that the Federal High Court, Abuja which later ruled Mr Anyanwu should remain the National Secretary “was obtained per curiam and in abuse of court process,” given that the High Court ruling in Enugu came first, and both courts were of coordinate jurisdiction.

The caucus urged  the NWC of the party, the PDP Governors’ Forum, the PDP Board of Trustees, the PDP National Assembly Caucus and all organs and stakeholders of the party, to recognise Udeh-Okoye as the authentic National Secretary of the PDP.