Sunday Udeh-Okoye, a former youth leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has resigned after unsuccessfully seeking the party’s national secretary position.
Mr Udeh-Okoye announced his resignation from the PDP in a letter addressed to the party’s chairperson in his Agbogugu ward in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
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The letter, obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, was dated 13 October 2025.
There had been an intense contest about who the authentic national secretary of the PDP was, between Samuel Anyanwu and Mr Udeh-Okoye, before Mr Anyanwu was finally recognised as the substantive national secretary of the party.
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Resignation
In his letter, Mr Udeh-Okoye said that although the PDP had been an “integral part of my political journey,” he made the decision because the party had lost its “moral compass.”
“This decision did not come lightly,” he said.
The former youth leader expressed gratitude to the PDP leadership for allowing him to serve in various capacities, such as a member of the Enugu House of Assembly.
“However, over time, I have watched with increasing concern as the ideals and vision of the founding fathers of the PDP, built on the principles of unity, justice, and equity, have been eroded.
“The PDP that once stood as a beacon of hope for democratic governance has regrettably lost its moral compass and ideological direction,” he said.
Mr Udeh-Okoye stressed that his resignation stemmed from his conviction that it is improper to remain within a “system that has strayed so far from its original purpose.”
“Therefore, I am compelled to part ways with the PDP as I embark on a progressive journey dedicated to restoring the values of democracy, accountability, and service to the people, which the party has sadly abandoned,” he stated.
Background
The contest for the PDP’s national secretary position had reached various courts, including Nigeria’s Supreme Court, without resolution.
Mr Anyanwu, the substantive occupant of the position, had stepped aside to contest in the 11 November 2023 Imo State governorship election on the PDP platform but lost to the incumbent governor, Hope Uzodimma of the APC.
He did not, however, submit a letter of resignation for the national secretary position of the party.
Meanwhile, in October 2023, some weeks before the Imo election, the leadership of the PDP in the South-east nominated Mr Udeh-Okoye to replace Mr Anyanwu as the party’s national secretary.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that the position of the national secretary was zoned to the South-east by the PDP in 2021 ahead of the party’s national convention on 30 October of that year.
In the heat of the debate, a High Court in Enugu State ordered the PDP to replace Mr Anyanwu as the party’s national secretary with Mr Ude-Okoye in October 2023. The former PDP national youth leader filed the suit.
The PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) had countered the order in a motion filed on 24 October 2023.
In the motion, the NWC asked the court to set aside the order, arguing that “it was obtained by fraud and suppression of material facts.” It also faulted the order for not being specific about what position Mr Udeh-Okoye should fill.
In another twist, earlier in January 2024, a Federal High Court in Abuja declared Mr Anyanwu as the valid national secretary of the PDP.
The judge, Inyang Ekwo, also restrained the PDP’s national leadership from appointing any person as its acting national secretary until the expiration of Mr Anyanwu’s four-year tenure on 9 December 2025, as enshrined in the party’s constitution.
In December, the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, upheld the High Court’s ruling that Mr Ude-Okoye be recognised as the national secretary of the PDP against Mr Anyanwu.
In the lead judgement by Ridwan Abdullahi, the Court of Appeal said Mr Anyanwu’s claim to the position after he contested and emerged as the PDP governorship election in Imo State violated the party’s constitution, and his appeal had no merit.
Despite the judgement, Mr Anyanwu refused to vacate office and appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court.
Mr Ude-Okoye, on his part, assumed duty on 30 December 2024 on the strength of the judgement.
However, in January 2025, the Court of Appeal in Abuja ordered both parties to maintain the status quo until the Supreme Court resolved the appeal.
Messrs Udeh-Okoye and Anyanwu interpreted the court order differently.
Mr Udeh-Okoye believed that the status quo meant that he should continue to function as the PDP national secretary, as pronounced by the Court of Appeal.
Mr Anyanwu, on his part, argued that the court’s status quo order amounted to a stay of execution of the court of appeal judgment affirming Mr Udeh-Okoye as national secretary.
However, on 21 March, the Supreme Court nullified the judgements of the lower courts, which sacked Mr Anyanwu as the PDP national secretary.
While Mr Anyanwu celebrated the court’s overturning of his sack, the PDP leadership in the South-east expressed happiness that the court held that both courts had no jurisdiction to hear the case.
The South-east PDP leadership celebrated the court’s ruling that matters relating to the leadership or membership of a political party fall strictly within the party’s internal affairs and should not be the business of any court.
On 14 May, they re-nominated Mr Udeh-Okoye as the party’s national secretary before presenting the re-nomination to the party’s NWC days later.
By June, the PDP leaders in the zone also threatened to dump the party if its NWC refused to ratify Mr Udeh-Okoye as the national secretary.
However, then-acting National Chairperson of the PDP, Umar Damagun, announced in June that Mr Anyanwu had been restored to his position as the party’s national secretary, which was later opposed by a faction of the party’s NWC.
Before Mr Damagum announced the restoration of Mr Anyanwu as the PDP’s national secretary, a bloc of leaders from the party loyal to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had earlier reaffirmed Mr Anyanwu as the duly elected and substantive national secretary of the party.
Meanwhile, Mr Udeh-Okoye’s resignation occurred barely 24 hours before the planned defection of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State from the PDP to the APC.
The former PDP youth leader is expected to join the APC on 14 October alongside the governor and other PDP leaders in the state.
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