From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a new twist, yesterday, as members of the National Working Committee ( NWC) clashed over a South East stakeholders meeting scheduled for today.
The PDP Director of Publicity, Chinwe Nnorom, in a statement, on behalf of the embattled National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, invited stakeholders in the South East to a meeting with the NWC.
Nnorom, in an invitation to journalists titled “the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) Meeting With Critical South-East Zonal Stakeholders” stated that the parley would hold at the Wadata Plaza, the party’s national headquarter in Abuja.
However, the PDP National Vice Chairman, South East, Ali Odefa, in a statement, dismissed the invitation, saying no such meeting was scheduled between the NWC and South East Stakeholders today.
Odefa said: “As the National Vice Chairman (South East) and member of the NWC representing the South East, I hereby authoritatively state that no such meeting is scheduled between the South East Stakeholders and the NWC.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the PDP South East has at the Zonal Committee (ZEC) meeting attended by all South East critical stakeholders in Enugu, Enugu State on Friday, January 25, 2025, discussed and unanimously agreed on all matters related to the planned South East Zonal Congress.
“All PDP South East Critical Stakeholders, staff of the National Secretariat of the PDP and the media should therefore disregard the purported invitation to a meeting of the South East Stakeholders with the NWC as no such meeting was scheduled.”
The PDP NWC has been divided in the aftermath of the judgment of the Court of Appeal Enugu Division, which ousted Anyanwu as National Secretary.
The Court had affirmed the nomination of former PDP National Youth Leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye by the South East chapter of the party as Anyanwu’s replacement, following the latter’s emergence as candidate in the last Imo State gubernatorial poll.
Nevertheless, while some of the NWC members, including National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, recognized Ude-Okoye as PDP scribe, Anyanwu has filed for a stay of execution, as well as appealed to the Supreme Court.
