Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Secretary, Sunday Ude-Okoye, has resigned from the main opposition party.
Ude-Okoye, a former National Youth Leader of the PDP, and the incumbent National Secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, were at loggerheads over the position.
In 2021 Anyanwu and other members of the National Working Committee of the PDP were elected into office, but 2023 Anyanwu contested the Imo Governorship election, which he lost to Governor Hope Uzodimma.
But before his return, the South East caucus of the party led by Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, and Deputy Zonal Chairman, Ali Odefa, had nominated Ude-Okoye as his (Anyanwu’s) replacement.
On his return, hell was let loose as Anyanwu demanded that he must be reinstated as Secretary.
After a protracted legal tussle, the PDP leadership recognised Udeh-Okoye as the substantive National Secretary of the party in compliance with a Court of Appeal judgment, in Enugu.
Not satisfied, Anyanwu continued his case to the Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court judgement further intensified the crisis as Anyanwu and Okoye laid claim to victory.
The PDP leaders allowed Anyanwu to resume office after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would only recognise him as Secretary.
On Monday, news emerged that Ude-Okoye had dumped the PDP.
When asked why he took the decision, Ude-Okoye said, “The party has lost its moral compass, ideological direction, and founding principles of unity, justice, and equity.”
In his resignation letter dated October 13, 2025, and addressed to the PDP Ward Chairman in Agbogugu, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, Udeh-Okoye said the decision followed “deep reflection and careful consideration,” lamenting that the PDP had “strayed far from the ideals of its founding fathers.”
He added, “I have come to the solemn conclusion that I can no longer, in good conscience, remain within a system that has strayed so far from its original purpose.”
He argued that the PDP that once stood as a beacon of hope for democratic governance has regrettably lost its “moral compass and ideological direction.”
