The decision by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum to attempt replacing an elected national officer of the party is a blatant violation of both the nation’s laws and the PDP’s constitution, according to PDP National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
“I remain the National Secretary of the PDP; this is not the first time that some people are attempting a shortcut that violates the PDP constitution and contradicts court orders,” Anyanwu stated, emphasising that those pushing the PDP Governors’ Forum in this direction are harming the party.
Anyanwu referred to the Supreme Court judgment of March, which explicitly nullified two previous rulings that some party members had relied on in their attempts to undermine him.
He also highlighted a subsisting Federal High Court order from January, which prohibits the PDP, its leaders, and its Deputy National Secretary from acting as the party’s National Secretary.
“I will resume at my office at the PDP National Secretariat in Wadata Plaza immediately after the Easter holidays. There is no vacancy for anyone to claim my position,” Anyanwu declared.
He mentioned that during a meeting of the governors, the party’s National Legal Adviser had informed them that their decision regarding the National Secretary position was wrong and that the Supreme Court had already ruled on the matter.
Anyanwu pointed out that the PDP constitution does not permit a few individuals to override national decisions or invalidate the outcome of a convention that had elected him as National Secretary for a four-year term in 2021.
He noted that prior to the recent action by ten PDP governors, a group of twenty-five self-appointed South East PDP members had tried to replace him, but their efforts were invalidated by the Supreme Court ruling of March 21.
He also emphasised that his lawyer had submitted the Supreme Court judgment to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), warning that no valid correspondence between INEC and the PDP could occur without his signature and that of the party’s national chairman.
He cautioned that any illegitimate signing of documents by someone other than him could jeopardize the party’s candidate.
In response, several groups within the PDP, particularly from the South-South region, have begun mobilising to challenge the second attempt by the PDP Governors’ Forum to replace Anyanwu.
According to members of the PDP Youth Group in the South-South, at least five of the governors are believed to be loyal to President Bola Tinubu and his 2027 re-election agenda.
They argued that the tension between some PDP governors and members of the PDP National Working Committee, including Anyanwu, is fueled by a mix of personal loyalties and party politics.
“Sen. Samuel Anyanwu’s reinstatement by the Supreme Court in March 2025 confirms his position as the authentic National Secretary of the party but some governors who are reportedly upset over his ties or friendship with the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, are pushing for his ouster, even in ways contrary to the party’s constitution.
“They have even suggested the appointment of an acting Secretary in place of a popularly elected one, and youths of the party may react to such draconian recommendation with vehement actions to forestall attempts to override the authority of the PDP constitution.
“As party faithfuls, we must all understand that the PDP Governors’ Forum is a pressure group within the party and not a constitutionally recognized organ of the PDP,” they added.
Also, a pressure group, the PDP Frontliners, in a statement by its President, Abdulraheem Ilyasu Garba and its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Gabriel Segun Adekoya in Abuja on Tuesday warned that the PDP Governors’ move against Anyanwu may only deepen intrigues and wreck all possibilities of rescuing the party before the 2027 elections.
“Trying to force Anyanwu out risks deepening the PDP’s internal crisis; the party is already struggling,-look at Anambra state, where PDP members were scared of buying gubernatorial nomination forms due to the chaos; our governors try to make a point about needing unity, but targeting Anyanwu seems more like a proxy war or witch hunt against FCT Minister, Wike rather than a principled stand.
“Sen. Anyanwu has been clear about his unshaken commitment to the PDP above all sentiments and being friends with the FCT minister should not be considered as a crime, especially when Anyanwu has a subsisting legal mandate as a constitutionally- elected National Secretary of the party whose tenure only elapses in December of 2025,” the PDP Frontliners argued.
