Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) have accused councilors of diffusing a potentially violent confrontation between two people claiming the position of party national secretary at Wadada, the party headquarters. It was revealed that the Board of Trustees (BoT) played an important role. Monday, Plaza, Abuja.
Naija News reports that even though the court on Sunday recognized Ude Okoye as the legitimate PDP National Secretary, the previous holder of the position, Samuel Anyanwu, has filed a pending appeal and stay of execution. For this reason, he resumed work at party headquarters.
The crisis between the two began after Mr. Anyanwu emerged as the party’s gubernatorial candidate in Imo State, after Mr. Ude Okoye was appointed as the national secretary.
However, Anyangwu lost the election and decided to regain his position. His return to the Secretariat threatened to escalate tensions as both he and Ude Okoye were reportedly determined to assert their authority over the position.
As the drama unfolded, security forces, including police and Ministry of State Security personnel, were deployed at the PDP headquarters to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
An anonymous member of the PDP NWC said in an interview with Punch that the BoT along with the PDP Governors Forum and other party leaders intervened to diffuse the situation.
According to the source, “The situation in which the PDP survived could have been catastrophic. Some people believe that the crisis escalated to a physical confrontation and why the police shut down the secretariat. That would have created a void and bought time for ulterior motives to emerge.
“Fortunately, the central bank and the Governors Forum intervened. They advised Anyanwu to respect the judgment of the Enugu court and advised Ude Okoye to stay away from Wada Square to avoid conflict. This swift action by the party leadership avoided what could have been a major embarrassment.”
