As the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continues to struggle with leadership crisis, the party’s National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, gives an insight into the situation and how it can be resolved. EUCLID MYKE was there for The AUTHORITY.
Q. Why are some party members interested in removing you as national secretary of PDP
I was elected in October 2021 as National Secretary of this party. According to the zoning, it was zoned to the south and micro zoned to southeast. Just like every other state in the southeast, it was zoned to Imo states. Every state in the southeast has a representative in the national working committee. For instance, The National Vice Chairman, Ebonyi State, National Deputy Treasurer Enugu State, The National Auditor from Anambra State. The Deputy National Legal Adviser, Abia State. Imo got National Secretary So you can see that it is wickedness for anybody that wants to take something from Ebonyi State and put it in Anambra State, when positions are evenly disputed.
But assuming that I am no longer the National Secretary, for instance, whoever that replaced me must come from Imo State. Besides, National Secretary of a party is for the entire south. I was not elected by only southeast. I was elected at the convention by the entire nation. I represent the nation but it’s very disheartening that the governor of Enugu State insisted that this must go to Enugu State, when Enugu already has somebody.
Q. But they are claiming that you have resigned or ought to have resigned having become the governorship candidate of the party in Imo state.
The then National Vice Chairman of the party Southeast, Ali Odefa, his tenure was elapsing and he wanted to remain as member of National Working Committee. He went, conjured and manipulated the governor of Enugu State, making him to believe that he can have the National Secretary of the party. I’m sure that the governor himself is not aware that the offices are shared among the states. They jumped into it, because he knows that the next National Vice Chairman of Southeast is supposed to come from Enugu State and he knows that he will not get it back. So he wanted to return back because his tenure ended on March 3rd or so. That’s how this whole issue started. He now connived with his friend, who is Governor Makinde of Oyo state, to pressurize Enugu to bring Ude-Okoye in and they went to court.
During the flag off of my campaign, Enugu governor came and asked me to resign and I told him, I will not and he was so angry. How can I resign on the day of my flag off? He became angry and said that I am going to resign. So it’s about ego. So I should trade my position because of somebody’s ego.
So I wonder how my office will endanger any of them because by December, my tenure will elapse if of course I choose not to come back. So why don’t you allow sleeping dog sleep?
Q. So what is the position of Ali Odefa in the party now
He was expelled by his ward, affirmed by his local government and then of course the state. They went to court and got an impeccable judgement. And this is part of the judgement. “An order of perpetual injunction restraining the first defendant, Honorable Dr. Ali Odefa from parading himself as a member of the People’s Democratic Party and or as the National Vice-Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party for the South East Zone of Nigeria and from performing the roles or exercising the powers of the position”.
It goes further to say, “This court ruling not only fortified the decisions of the party structures at his ward, Local government and state levels but also permanently bans him from presiding at or even attending any PDP related meetings. It is thus established that any meeting conveyed or attended by Honorable Ali Odefa remains invalid and infected by the virus of fundamental illegality”. This is the judgment of the High Court.
So you will not go to the South East and say you are convening a meeting, who was there? I am the National Secretary of the party; I am from the South East. What meeting will you convene when I am not there? What justification do you have? Assuming today I am no longer the National Secretary, I am a member of the caucus, I am a member of the Board of Trustees, I am a member of NEC by my position.
Q. But the party seems to be carrying out day to day activities without you.
Let me tell you, nobody can sign a document outside me. They came to find it themselves after doubting what I told them. I sent a message because I know that committee of Saraki is still meeting and they were supposed to round up. I now sent out a letter signed by me that the NEC is postponed pending when they finalize. So what they had there was not NEC, it was a stakeholders meeting.
If it is a NEC meeting, any decision taken there is an illegality because PDP is a party, an organization, ruled by law and we should respect our constitution. And they make it look as if I’m one person causing problems with PDP.
Q. There is a feeling that your relationship with the FCT minister is affecting the activities of the party.
His Excellency, the FCT Minister is my friend and my boss and I can never for any intimidation, deny him. Nobody can make me to deny my friend because after position, there’s still life. Even you as journalists, I don’t know where I’m going to meet you tomorrow. Your job may not be as a journalist. So I cannot underwrite any of you because this journey is still very far and nobody knows how it will end.
This is what I tell my NWC members. We came here as a united family. It would be nice for us to go as a united family so that we can still meet tomorrow and say we are brothers, we served an organization. Let nobody try to fragment the NWC. We’ve been here for three years plus. We just have four months to go. Let us do it and go in peace.
We just have a few months to go. Why would anybody want to break his head? So for me, the position of the national secretary is very clear. I’m the secretary of the caucus. I’m the secretary of NEC. And if NEC says I am so and you do anything to the contrary, you are shooting yourself in the leg.
Some people will say Senator Anayanwu, he is pro-Wike. What is pro-Wike. Everybody knows his role in this party. Everybody knows when it mattered most, he was there for the party. He is working with the APC government and they forget the way he was appointed. He wrote a letter to his party in the state. The party in the state gave him a go ahead. He wrote a letter to the then governor, the governor of the state also gave a go ahead. He wrote to NWC and he was appointed. I would not stop him from going to hold that position.
Q. Are you willing to make any sacrifice or sacrifice your position to ensure that the PDP does not sink deeper?
I campaigned, I went to all the states campaigning for this position and I was elected and my position is for four years which the constitutional guarantees and the next convention is by August or October and we have just five more months to go.
Why would you want to put a party into turmoil? Why would you sacrifice me for a man who has been rejected by his people and by court? What kind of sacrifice is that? And you think I will stand and I will sit and watch? It’s not about making sacrifice. It’s about doing the right thing. It’s only when you do the right thing that somebody can make a sacrifice.
And what would I do between now and the convention to injure the party? And why would I be irresponsible to injure a party that gave me a platform?
Some of these people have left the party and come back. Some of them came to this party midway. But I have been with this party since 1999.
I’ve never gone out and come back. I’ve remained. In my state, we’ve had a government. For eight years, Rochas was governor I was in PDP. I defeated his candidates from state assembly straight to senate. That’s how my popularity is. So for me, I don’t see the reason why we should injure this party.
