PDP: Still in the Eye of the Storm

CHUKS OKOCHA REPORTS THAT THE MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY, THE PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC PARTY, IS EMBROILED IN SOME INTERNAL CRISES SAYING THE WAY THE ISSUES ARE RESOLVED WILL DETERMINE THE WAY FORWARD FOR THE PARTY.

Three issues remain outstanding in the Peoples Democratic Party since the beginningof Year 2025. They include the fate of the legality of the South South zonal congress. The second is the issue of the national secretary of the party while the last is the recommendation for the expulsion of Senator Sam Anyanwu by the Tom Ikimi- led National Disciplinary Committee of the party.

These are the basic problems confronting the PDP at the moment. It goes to show that what the party needed at the moment  is reconciliation of its members and not the proxy war between stakeholders. Trying to discipline perceived erring members that committed anti-party activities against the party is also not the issue at the moment.

The 2027 general election is fast approaching and the PDP is busy chasing shadows. Trying to catch the mice within the party, whereas, the elephants and hippopotamuses are busy marching the streets freely unencumbered.

The history of the once ruling party is replete with senior members of the party that are  indisciplined and with traits of anti party activities. Don’t look far, they are within the party.

That explains why the governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri told stakeholders that the party should first look inwards to reinvent itself. 

Speaking at the inauguration of the Emmanuel Ogidi-led caretaker committee for the South south, Governor Diri was able to tell the truth to the stakeholders that no member of the party is bigger than any individual and that unless it’s internal challenges are fixed, the party’s progress would remain retarded as they are.

The Bayelsa State Governor advocated for  political will to confront those formenting trouble in the party, explaining that the challenges of the PDP reside with the members and not solely on the leadership.

Diri, who is also Chairman of the South-South PDP Governors Forum, stated that for the party to be competitive as the oldest in the country, it must look inwards and fix its internal issues.

He said: “For me, we have to look inwards before accusing those outside our party. We have to first fix our internal issues. 

“It is very easy to point accusing fingers. But the PDP has to sit back and tackle its internal challenges. That is only when we can stand to compete with others.

“I want the PDP to be competitive with other political parties. We are the oldest political party in Nigeria. So we have no reason to be accusing outsiders.”

On whether the party’s leadership has the political will to discipline those formenting trouble, Governor Diri averred that such will reside with the members.

“We are all members of the party. The moment we all resolve that we need to fix our party, there cannot be any one person that is bigger than the party.”, he stressed.

His comments was indirectly directed at the conduct of the South Southzonal congress of the party that was said to have been conducted despite the directives of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party on February 22, 2025.

Commenting on the South South zonal congress, the acting National Chairman of the PDP, Ambassador Illya Damagum maintained that the party has not conducted its South-South zonal elective congress, despite claims to the contrary.

Many who observed what happened, ascribed it to the party trying to reinvent itself from the strong grip of forces outside the party. This is because Danagum’s position contradicted the events of February 22, 2025, when the party reportedly held the congress, with the chairman of the electoral committee, Vita Abba, declaring Dan Orbih — an ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike — as the National Vice Chairman for the South-South zone after securing 174 votes.

Wike, who attended the congress in Calabar, insisted that the process was legal and final, declaring that the South-South remains the PDP’s strongest base. He dismissed any plans for a fresh congress, affirming Orbih’sleadership in the zone.

The Damagum-led National Working Committee ignored Wike’s stance and, on March 7, appointed Emma Ogidi as Chairman of the Caretaker Committee while setting April 12 as the new date for the zonal congress.

Justifying the inauguration of the caretaker committee, Damagum said, “As far as the NWC is concerned, the South-South Zonal Congress has not been held. Since their tenure has ended, we are setting up a Caretaker Committee today.”

Speaking further, Damagum said, ‘’I also want to use this opportunity to tell Nigerians that this party, the PDP, is still the party to beat. A party that has been tested for 27 years, one of the oldest parties.

‘’All these shenanigans you see around, the APC, the others, have not been more than 10 years old and if you’ve grown up to be up to 27 years and still standing, still counting, then there is no guarantee more than that.

‘’The PDP is the guarantee for Nigerians to change the course of what is happening today in our country. I also want to use this opportunity to caution our leaders, don’t fear them’’, Damagum stated.

Speaking further, the PDP National Chairman said: ‘’Nobody is going to change your destiny for you other than yourself. I’ve noticed may be because of fears, you find sometimes leaders encouraging this present administration at the center. I find it really very disgusting. Let’s tell ourselves the truth. 

‘’So please and please, let’s be up and doing. Don’t fear anyone. Nigerians belong to all of us. So there’s nobody who is a better Nigerian than you are. It’s all an opportunity, but if you put your act together, the path is very bright, we will reach the destination.’’

Also within the party, another issue that has caused serious controversy is who is the authentic national secretary of the party. This issue has stalled the aspirations of Governorship aspirants from Anambra State in the November 2025 governorship election.

It was gathered that no fewer than 12 aspirants that indicated interest in contesting on the platform of the party decided to stay back because of the fear of who is the authentic national secretary between Senator Sam Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye.

As one of the governorship aspirants from Anambra State put it, ‘’N40 million is too big to be wasted. When the party puts its house in order, we will be back “.

However, the intervention of the Supreme Court is gradually restoring calm to the party as after entertaining legal arguments from counsels of Anyanwu and Ude-Okoye, the apex court has reserved judgement.

Then come the recommendation by the Tom Ikimi-led Disciplinary Committee that Sam Anyanwu should be suspended. Anyanwu, however, did not attend the sitting of the  committee because he claimed to have appointment with his medical team.

The National Disciplinary Committee had submitted its first report to the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), recommending the expulsion of  Senator Anyanwu from the party.

The committee’s report was submitted last Wednesday at the Party’s National Secretariat in Abuja during the meeting of the party’s NWC presided over by the National Chairman, Umar Damagum.

The meeting came two days after the Supreme Court dismissed a motion for a stay of execution of a High Court judgment removing Senator Anyanwu from office as National Secretary and replacing him with Udeh-Okoye.

The recommendation for the expulsion followed allegations of gross misconduct, anti-party activities and other infractions bordering on abuse of office, levelled against Senator Anyanwu, who has been fighting the Party after the Appeal Court sacked him as National Secretary of the PDP.

A party source said “the committee’s findings and recommendations are in line with the provisions of the party’s constitution, 2017 as amended.”

Senator Anyanwu, former Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, and others had turned down request extended to them to appear before it by the Ikimi-led National Disciplinary Committee on Friday, February 12, 2025.

The PDP’s National Working Committee is expected to review the recommendation of the National Disciplinary Committee, and take appropriate action in line with Article 57, 58, 59 and 60 of the PDP Constitution.

Whatever would be the outcome, the NWC is expected to submit it’srecommendations to the National Executive Committee of the party, anytime, it meets or the National convention for final approval.

For the committee to go ahead to recommended that Anyanwu should be expelled showed the level of disdain the committee has for the judiciary. 

Though the embattled Anyanwu has described the recommendation of the Ikimi-led committee as ridiculous, he also described the committee report as one of the proxy wars against him within the party.

Be that as it may, he said he expects the apex court to resolve all these legal challenges in his favour.

It is expected that if in the coming weeks the party was able to resolve the issue of the authentic national secretary and conduct an acceptable South South zonal congress as other geo-political zones of the country, PDP will surely be on its way to reinventing itself. Time will definitely tell