By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
Indications have emerged that attempts to microzone the office of National Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through consensus has collapsed as candidates from Anambra and Imo states are set to slug it out at the national convention.
It was gathered that the office of the National Secretary earlier zoned to Anambra state and National Auditor to Imo is now in a twist as the positions are being scrambled for by aspirants from the two states.
At a meeting held on Thursday in Enugu, Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi announced that the zone has endorsed Sen. Samuel Anyanwu (Imo) as it’s consensus candidate for the office of National Secretary.
But in a swift development, Okey Muo-Aroh rejected the purported endorsement of Anyanwu as consensus National Secretary for the zone.
He described the endorsement as an imposition explaining that at no point was Sen. Anyanwu nominated or considered as a consensus candidate for the zone.
Speaking with newsmen on Monday at the PDP headquarters, Abuja after the submission of his nomination forms, Muo-Aroh said, “some people are branding that there was a consensus candidate, this is the bane of the party in the south East.
“The party in its wisdom zoned offices to the south east, and nobody was privy to any other arrangement order than that we heard that the office of the National Secretary has been zoned to Anambra auditor to Imo state. “That was why I, CID and Osita Chidoka started embarking on consultations and moving around, only for us to come to Enugu on Thursday and the zonal chairman said that the governors will brief us.
“Gov. Ugwuanyi introduced Gov. Ikpazu and Ikpazu read from a script, and said that they changed their mind; they now put the Secretary to Imo state, and they already have a candidate in the person of Anyanwu and they called somebody from Anambra as the auditor.
“Thank God that leaders like Peter Obi, Adolphus Wabara, Eyinnaya Abaribe, Emeka Ehidioha and Olisa Metuh said the things I would have said.
“At the end of the day the delegates of Imo state said they were not vying for the office of the National Secretary, because it has been given to Anambra. What is left for us is a national auditor”.
He said that in anything that is being shared between Imo and Anambra by any formula, Anambra comes first. So, on that basis, the people of Anambra totally rejects that so called arrangement.
“But like I said, politics is about negotiation and compromises. Our people are ready to sit down at the round table and talk to this problems, because we are members of the Democratic Party. We cannot run away from this party. No amount of shenanigans, no threat, no impunity can drive somebody like me from PDP because I’ve been there.
Earlier, former Senator that represented Imo East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Samuel Anyanwu has claimed that he is the consensus candidate from the zone for the office of the National Secretary.
He hinted that there will be massive exodus of members from the All Progressives Congress (APC) into the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the South East.
Senator Anyanwu proplarly known as Sam Daddy Anyanwu made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja when he submitted his nomination form for the for the office of National Secretary for the October 31st PDP National Convention in Abuja
The senator who claimed to have emerged as the consensus candidate of the South East debunked insinuations that he was imposed on the zone by a South South governor.
He said that he has been a loyal member of the PDP, a moving train who has never lost an election for the party.
Sen. Anyanwu said that his emergence has already sent some jitters to the ruling party as some members stayed away from the APC state congresses that held last weekend so as to join the umbrella.
“I know even before my emerging as the National Secretary of the party, there are a lot of indication that there will be a tsunami in the next few weeks in Imo state, those who are going to move out from the APC because of hearing my name as the national Secretary of the party.
“I said that there is going to be a tsunami of defection of people from APC to PDP especially from Imo state where I come from and other states in the Southeast. I can tell you as we speak, most people in APC, having heard that I have emerged as the consensus candidate of the party, have refused to even participate in the last Saturday congress of the party, because they are preparing to move into PDP. So there is going to be a total tsunami, total earth earthquake in the southeast, from APC to PDP” Anyanwu said.
The lawmaker described the emergence of APC governor in Imo state has an aberation and pledged to work hard to reverse the tide.
He said, “I can assure you like in my state where I came from, Imo is traditionally a PDP state. What happened in the last election was an abberation and we are going to take it back by the special grace of God.
“The South East zone is traditionally a PDP zone and we are going to bring back all our states come 2023”.
Commenting on how he intends to return the entire zone to the PDP, Sen. Anyanwu stressed that he has been able to speak to some of the people that defected to the APC adding that the new National Working Committee (NWC) of PDP will make a difference in reconciling aggrieved members. He said that Nigerians are tired of APC and are in agreement that their best is not good enough.
“We are going to go into total reconciliation. We are going to do a forensic audit to know why there was disaffection and we will be able to bring everybody on board to make sure that there is unity in the party”.
He went further to state that his emergence was popular and that he was not a product of imposition neither was his candidacy influenced by Gov. Wike of Rivers State.
“I can never be imposed by anybody because I am a moving machine for the party. I have never lost election in PDP even when it mattered most, I have always won in Imo state. The South East, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi, there is no leader that does not know who I am.
“I was nominated by consensus by governors and leaders of the South East. Gov Wike is not from the South East and couldn’t have played a role in my emergence” he assured.
The lawmaker was accompanied by PDP National Vice Chairman South East Ali Odefa and other PDP stalwarts.
