“PDP South East Refutes Meeting with NWC, Calling it a Fabrication”
The South East Zone of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly dismissed a purported stakeholders’ meeting called by the acting National Chairman, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, escalating the party’s ongoing internal turmoil.
The notice for the meeting, scheduled for 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja, was sent out on Monday by the embattled National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu. The notice claimed that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party had summoned the meeting.
However, the National Vice Chairman of the PDP for the South East, Chief Ali Odefa, quickly rejected the notice, clarifying that no such meeting had been approved or scheduled by the NWC. Odefa’s swift dismissal of the meeting notice highlights the deepening divisions within the party and the ongoing leadership struggle.
He pointed out that South East stakeholders had already convened last Friday in Enugu, where they reached a consensus on the upcoming South East Zonal Congress. In a statement personally signed by him, Odefa urged party members and the media to disregard the notice, reinforcing that the NWC had no involvement in this supposed meeting.
Odefa’s statement read:
“My attention has been drawn to a purported invitation for a meeting of South East stakeholders with the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. As the National Vice Chairman (South East) and a member of the NWC representing the South East, I categorically state that no such meeting has been scheduled.
“For clarity, the PDP South East, at the Zonal Committee (ZEC) meeting in Enugu on Friday, January 25, 2025, unanimously agreed on all matters related to the planned South East Zonal Congress. All South East stakeholders and media should, therefore, disregard this purported meeting invitation.”
Supporting Odefa’s position, PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba confirmed that the NWC had not approved such a meeting. Ologunagba emphasized that the South East Zone had already held a successful meeting in Enugu, led by Governor Peter Mba of Enugu State, where key issues were discussed and resolved.
Speaking to journalists, Ologunagba said:
“I am not aware of any scheduled meeting between the NWC and the South East stakeholders. Last Friday, the zone held a successful meeting, led by Governor Peter Mba, with all critical stakeholders in attendance. If the NWC had called a meeting, I would have been informed. To the best of my knowledge, this meeting is nothing more than a rumor.”
The ongoing leadership crisis within the PDP remains unresolved as the dispute between Anyanwu and former National Youth Leader Sunday Ude-Okoye continues to linger. Despite a recent Court of Appeal ruling in Enugu declaring Ude-Okoye the rightful National Secretary, Anyanwu has refused to vacate the position, citing an appeal to the Supreme Court and a pending application for a stay of execution of the appellate court’s judgment.
Anyanwu’s refusal to step aside has exacerbated the divisions within the party, and the NWC has struggled to find a resolution, leaving the PDP in a state of uncertainty as the 2027 elections approach.
