The PDP Governors Forum has declared their backing for Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the party’s national secretary amid legal battles.
The governors took the decision at their first 2025 monthly meeting held on Friday in Asaba, Delta State, south-south Nigeria.
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There has been an intense contest about who is the authentic national secretary of the PDP, between Samuel Anyanwu and a former PDP National Youth Leader, Mr Ude-Okoye.
The matter is currently being argued at various courts, including Nigeria’s Supreme Court.
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Implement court decision
Aside from other court judgements, the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, in December, upheld a High Court’s ruling that Mr Ude-Okoye be recognised as the national secretary of the PDP against Mr Anyanwu.
In a communique issued at the end of their meeting on Friday, the PDP governors said they have passed a resolution backing the court of appeal judgment which pronounced Mr Ude-Okoye as the authentic national secretary of the party.
They advised the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to implement the court decision accordingly.
They further asked the NWC to reschedule the party’s National Executive Council meeting to 13 March 2025 from its initial February date.
In attendance at the meeting were the Chairperson of the Forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State and Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State.
Others were Governor Diri Duoye of Bayelsa State, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, Governor Muftwang of Plateau State, Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State, Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, and the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Bayo Lawal.
‘Revisit your economic policies’
The Governor of Bauchi State and Chairperson of the PDP Governors Forum, Bala Mohammed, read out the communique at the meeting.
Mr Mohammed, while reading the communique, said the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration had caused untold hardship for Nigerians.
“The Forum calls on the federal government to either revisit or rejig its macroeconomic policies to ameliorate and stop the hardship and pains that they have inflicted on Nigerians as no meaningful or impactful achievements in the states will be achieved until the harsh policies are addressed,” he said.
He urged Nigerians not to despair over the hardship in Nigeria, assuring that the problem would be fixed as soon the PDP returns to power.
The chairperson also decried resurgence of non-state actors in Nigeria and asked Mr Tinubu to strengthen the country’s security architecture.
Background on national secretary squabble
Mr Anyanwu, the substantive occupant of the position, stepped aside to contest in the 11 November 2023 Imo State governorship election on the PDP platform but lost to the incumbent governor, Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress.
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 Ude-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, in October 2023, ordered the PDP to replace Mr Anyanwu as the party’s national secretary with Mr Ude-Okoye. The suit was filed by the former PDP national youth leader.
The PDP’s 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” and also faulted the order for not being specific as to 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 national leadership of the PDP 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, a former national youth leader, be recognised as the national secretary of the PDP against Mr Anyanwu.
In the lead judgement by Ridwan Abdullahi, the appellate court 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 on the strength of the judgement.
However, the Court of Appeal in Abuja, in January 2025, ordered both parties to maintain status quo until the Supreme Court resolves the appeal.
Messrs Udeh-Okoye and Anyanwu interpreted the court order differently.
Mr Ude-Okoye believes that the status quo means 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 Ude-Okoye as national secretary.
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Recently, the PDP national spokesperson, Debo Ologunagba and his Deputy, Ibrahim Abdullahi, countered as to who is the authentic national secretary.
Mr Ologunagba recognised Mr Ude-Okoye as the PDP national secretary, citing the Enugu’s court of appeal judgment.
But Mr Abdullahi countered him and affirmed Mr Anyanwu as the rightful national secretary of the party, relying on the order by the High Court in Abuja.
Last Friday, the PDP leadership in the South-east zone again restated its support for Mr Ude-Okoye as the party’s national secretary.
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