Trending 
As the internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the National Secretary position remains unresolved, Senator Samuel Anyanwu has insisted he is still the party’s duly elected secretary. He also declared that no form of pressure or intimidation would make him disassociate from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Anyanwu questioned the motives behind efforts to remove him from office, singling out Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah. “What offence have I committed?” he asked.
Since the 2023 general elections, the PDP has been entangled in deepening internal disputes. The crisis escalated in December 2024 when the South East Zonal Caucus, along with a lower court, recognised former National Youth Leader Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the new National Secretary.
While the party’s governors, Board of Trustees (BoT), and National Working Committee (NWC) accepted the court’s decision, Anyanwu, backed by Nyesom Wike, challenged it at the Supreme Court. In a ruling delivered on March 21, the apex court voided his removal, stating that internal party issues fall outside judicial authority.
Despite the ruling, tensions persisted. On April 14, PDP governors urged the South East to submit a replacement nominee. Deputy National Secretary Setonji Koshoedo was selected and officially appointed Acting National Secretary by the NWC during its 600th meeting on April 29.
However, the leadership struggle continues to create sharp divisions within the party. Many party members blame former Rivers State Governor Wike for deepening the crisis, especially after he pulled out of the PDP reconciliation efforts on Sunday.
Anyanwu expressed confusion over the push to oust him, noting that his tenure has less than five months remaining. “Why the desperation?” he asked, underscoring the political tensions still gripping the PDP.
He stated, “My question is, what will Governor Makinde say that I did to him? Have I stressed him for any reason? Have I called him funny names? What is my sin? What is my problem with him? Have I done anything against him? What have I done against him? I consider him as my friend.
“When people have a motive, a vision, what would my vision be? Whether you want to be president, whether you want to be governor, what would my position do? My position will end by December. Election is 2027. Primaries are 2026. I will not be there. So what would my position now do?
“His Excellency, the FCT Minister, is my friend and my boss, and I can never, for any intimidation, deny him. Nobody can make me deny my friend because after position, there’s still life.
“This is what I tell my NWC members. We came here as a united family. It would be nice for us to go as a united family. So that we can still meet tomorrow and say we are brothers. We served an organisation. Let nobody try to fragment the National Working Committee. We have been here for three years plus. We just have four months to go. Let us do it and go in peace.
“We just have a few months to go. Why would anybody want to break his head? Some people will say Senator Anyanwu, he is pro-Wike. What is pro-Wike? Everybody knows his role in this party. Everybody knows when it mattered most. He was there for the party.”
The Senator called on leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to approach the ongoing leadership dispute with caution, stressing the need to safeguard the party’s future.
He continued, “So, I think that our parties should be very careful. They should be very, very careful.
“And you see, I respect our governors. I respect them because I know it’s not easy to be a governor. But that you’re a governor does not mean that you cannot come out and tell your colleagues the truth. They know the truth. Why are they shying away from it? They know the truth.”
