The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South East has nominated a former PDP national youth leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye, to replace Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s national secretary.
Anyanwu is the PDP candidate for the Imo State governorship election on November 11.
The PDP National Vice President for South East, Ali Odefa, disclosed this at the Zonal Executive Committee meeting of the party held at the Government House, Enugu on Friday night.
Odefa told reporters after the meeting that the resolution was reached to allow Anyanwu time to focus on his campaign and the elections.
“After meeting and exchanging ideas in the South East Zone, we came up with a nomination from Enugu State in the person of SK Udeh-Okoye to replace Sam Anyanwu as the national secretary of the PDP,” he said.
Odefa said the party leadership in the South East also resolved to support Anyanwu to emerge victorious in the gubernatorial election.
He urged PDP members in Imo State to do everything they could, legally, to ensure that the PDP candidate wins.
“We will submit our resolutions in writing to the NWC of our great party for ratification on behalf of the National Executive Committee as provided in the statutes of our party,” Mr. Odefa added.
At the meeting was Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, his deputy, Ifeanyi Ossai, former Governor of Ebonyi State, Sam Egwu, former National Chairman of the PDP and former Governor of the former Enugu State, Okwesilieze Nwodo, and the former governor of Imo state. Emeka Ihedioha, among others.
Background
The PDP split the national secretary position in the South East in 2021, ahead of the party’s national convention on October 30 of that year.
At the convention, Mr Anyanwu, who had been appointed by the PDP South East Zonal Executive, emerged as the national secretary.
The recent nomination of the South East PDP has put an end to weeks of speculation and controversy over Mr Anyanwu’s positions as the PDP gubernatorial candidate and national secretary.
The PDP board had last week said Anyanwu could not remain national secretary of the party while vying for the governorship position in Imo State.
BOT Acting Chairman Adolphus Wabara, in a letter dated October 12 and addressed to the party’s Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, stated that Anyanwu holding the two positions at the same time was not only morally wrong but also contrary to the party constitution. .
After the letter became public, there was speculation that the PDP had relieved Mr Anyanwu of his position as the party’s national secretary.
But PDP national spokesperson, Debo Ologunagba, in a statement on October 14, denied the speculation and maintained that Anyanwu remained the party’s national secretary.