The leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is taking a toll on the party.
Though the PDP reopened on January 13 after the Yuletide break, Wadata Plaza, the party’s national secretariat, has been deserted.
Sunday Telegraph gathered that National Working Committee (NWC) members are avoiding the party secretariat for fear of attack.
The National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, who spoke to journalists on phone that Monday, accused the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who was sacked by Appeal Court last December, of employing the services of “thugs from Niger State” to invalidate his sack.
“We are privy to the communication involved, including the emails that were sent by bank transfer. We have details of that.
“All of these were done at the behest of Senator Anyanwu. It is unfortunate that a former senator should be a lawbreaker. There is a process; let us agree on the rule of law,” Ologunagba advised.
Anyanwu was sacked by Enugu Division of Court of Appeal on December 20 last year, but he appeared at the PDP secretariat on Monday morning and took over the National Secretary’s office.
Throughout last week, Anyanwu and the National Youth Leader, Suleiman Kadada, were the only NWC members sighted at the party’s secretariat.
An NWC member, who pleaded anonymity, also accused Anyanwu of desperation, and said he connived with some NWC members to hold tight to office after his sack.
Said the source: “He connived with some of us in NWC, using delay tactics to implement the court judgement because the thing happened during the holidays.
“NWC supposed to sit down and decide as was in the case of (Iyorchia) Ayu. They delayed it until they were able to file stay of execution.”
He accused the acting National Chairman Ambassador Umar Damagum and the National Organising Secretary, Capt. Umar Bature, of working with Anyanwu, to retain his office after he was sacked.
The source further disclosed that the NWC was supposed to meet last Wednesday to take a decision, but Damagum refused to call the meeting.
According to him, he was told by some lawyers, “including (PDP) National Legal Adviser” that the Appeal Court judgement was a declaratory one, which cannot be stayed, but wondered how Anyanwu was able to get the order.
“The order included everybody, the NEC, NWC, the Governors Forum and the BoT, that nobody should remove him. In other words, grounding the party.
“Right now, everything is at standstill. Nobody could work until the judgement of the Supreme Court nullifies or affirms his position. It shows there is a hidden agenda,” he regretted.
Though he admitted that there was division among the NWC members, but said they have resolved to work together.
Sunday Telegraph gathered that the NWC members were still divided, even after the PDP Governors’ Forum intervened in the crisis that beset the leadership last year.
Out of about 16 remaining NWC members, only Damagum, Anyanwu and Bature, are working together.
On Friday, Damagum drafted the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, who is not a member of NWC, to brief the press on the development in the party. This further exposed the division in the NWC.
Ologunagba said he did not give anybody instruction to speak on his behalf, citing provision of section 40(1) of the PDP Constitution.
“The only person who can speak for the party is the National Publicity Secretary. There is a Deputy National Publicity Secretary, who only talks as directed by the National Publicity Secretary, or when the National Publicity Secretary is not around.
“I’m around in Abuja; I did not give anybody instruction to speak. If anybody addressed the press, I don’t want to recognise him. There is a line of communication in the party,” he explained.
A former National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, blamed the crisis in PDP on division between the PDP Governors’ Forum and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Ologbondiyan expressed worries at the intractable crisis in the party, and said it was a ploy by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to destabilise the PDP.
“Anyanwu is not acting alone,” he said, and accused the trio of Damagum, Anyanwu and Bature, of holding the party to ransom.
“It is unfortunate. I really don’t know how the problem can be resolved,” Ologbondiyan stated, but hoped that PDP would be able the recover and rebuild before 2027 general election.
