Fresh crisis has erupted within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as 11 members of the National Working Committee (NWC) have publicly rejected the return of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s National Secretary. The dramatic rebellion, announced on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, follows an earlier declaration by the PDP Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, that Anyanwu would resume office immediately.
Tensions rose further when Damagum, flanked by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro during a press conference in Abuja, also announced the cancellation of the much-anticipated National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for June 30, 2025. The move triggered instant backlash from the dissenting NWC faction.
In a strongly worded joint statement issued hours after the announcement, the 11 NWC members, including Deputy National Chairman (South) Taofeek Arapaja, Acting National Secretary Setonji Koshoedo, National Treasurer Ahmed Mohammed, and National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, accused Damagum of violating the PDP Constitution. They insisted that no single individual or group has the authority to overturn NEC decisions.
The factional leaders maintained that the June 30 NEC meeting remains valid and will proceed as originally planned. “The 100th NEC meeting, scheduled for Monday, 30th June 2025, has not been canceled or postponed,” the statement read. They also emphasized that Damagum’s pronouncements on Anyanwu’s return have no constitutional backing.
This leadership clash traces back to the Court of Appeal ruling in December 2024, which declared Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the rightful PDP National Secretary after Anyanwu contested the Imo governorship election in November 2023. Although the Supreme Court later dismissed the case in March 2025, citing it as an internal party matter, the power struggle over the position has intensified.
Amid the escalating tension, PDP stakeholders from the South-East, led by the Zonal Executive Committee, have threatened mass defection if Udeh-Okoye is not recognized. Their warning, first issued on May 14, 2025, has heightened fears of a possible regional fallout within the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
With both sides standing their ground, party insiders now describe the upcoming June 30 NEC meeting as a make-or-break moment that could define the PDP’s unity—or trigger a full-blown leadership implosion.
