Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye, the two men locked in struggle for the position of the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Wednesday, clashed as the Board of Trustees’ meeting of the opposition party began.
The PDP, which has been embroiled in a series of crises, held BoT meeting at its National Headquarters, on Wednesday.
The meeting had just begun with the Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, and Anyanwu seated before Ude-Okoye’s arrival.
But when Ude-Okoye entered the hall, the BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, was delivering a speech.
Ude-Okoye waited for the BoT Chairman to finish his speech before going round to greet those on the high table, shunning his rival, Anyanwu.
But Ude-Okoye was later forced out of the meeting by suspected thugs, leading to an altercation. Journalists were immediately asked to leave the meeting for a closed door session.
Udu-Okoye was seen shouting and urging his supporters not to allow his ejection from the meeting.
He was later seen at the gate, lamenting the injustice done to him, as Anyanwu’s men were allowed into the Secretariat but his own supporters were denied access.
As at the time of filing this report, Ude-Okoye was still outside as the meeting progressed.
The position of the National Secretary has has been a contentious issue since Anyanwu left to contest the Imo governorship position, which he lost.
In his absence, the South-East Caucus of the party endorsed Ude-Okoye to replace him.
After losing the position, efforts to reclaim his seat as the secretary threw the party into further crisis.
An Appeal Court sitting in Enugu had on December 20, 2024, upheld an earlier decision of a High Court removing Senator Anyanwu as the PDP National Secretary and affirmed Ude-Okoye as the authentic secretary.
Anyanwu has, however, filed for a Stay of Execution and Appeal, with Dr. Musa (SAN) nominated as the party’s legal counsel by Damagum, the crux of the new impasse.
