It was all confusion on Wednesday at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters in Abuja as rival factions of the Peoples Democratic Party clashed over the position of the National secretary of the party.
Fight broke out between the two claimants to the position of National Secretary—Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye—insisted on participating in the 79th BoT meeting, both taking seats at the high table.
The situation escalated when Udeh-Okoye was forcibly removed from the hall by an aide of Senator Anyanwu, along with security personnel.
Emmanuel Okoronkwo, an aide to Anyanwu, was said to have slapped Udeh-Okoye and joined others in physically removing him from the venue.
Security personnel initially used pepper spray to control the chaos, but tensions reignited ten minutes later when Udeh-Okoye returned with about ten men dressed in black T-shirts.
Policemen and the PDP Chief Security Officer were seen appealing to him to de-escalate the situation.
The meeting, presided over by the Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Amb. Umar Damagum, was attended by several key party members, including National Secretary Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, Senator Ben Obi, BoT Chairman Senator Adolphus Wabara, Board Secretary Senator Ahmed Makarfi, former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and former Youth Leader Sunday Ude-Okoye.
The PDP’s South East zone had in 2023 nominated former National Youth Leader Sunday Ude-Okoye to replace Anyanwu as National Secretary after he was selected as the party’s candidate for the Imo State governorship election. The South East PDP argued that Anyanwu should step down from the position due to his candidacy, fueling additional controversy within the party.
An Appeal Court sitting in Enugu on December 20, 2024, upheld a previous High Court ruling removing Senator Anyanwu as the PDP National Secretary and affirmed Sunday Ude-Okoye as the legitimate officeholder.
However, last week, the Court of Appeal in Abuja issued a restraining order, directing Anyanwu to remain in office as National Secretary until the Supreme Court resolves the ongoing appeal.
