Southeast

By Our Reporter

ABUJA (PRECISE POST)  –   The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South East stakeholders have firmly rejected the illegitimate meeting held at the Enugu State Government House, Enugu by the expelled former National Vice Chairman of the party, Chief Ali Odefa describing all the decisions purportedly reached at the said meeting as a nullity.
The stakeholders which held in Abuja on Monday May 19, 2025 as convened by the new National Vice Chairman of the PDP, Southeast zone, Hon. Chidiebere Goodluck Egwu also reaffirmed its support for the National Secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
The stakeholders’ meeting which was attended by the leaders of the party in the Southeast including the immediate past governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Senator Michael Amah Nnachi, Senator Paulinus Igwe Nwagu, Rt. Hon Jones Onyeriri, the Zonal Legal Adviser, Barr. Ukpai Ukairo, Zonal Organising Secretary, Rt. Hon. Mike Ahumibe, the PDP Chairmen of PDP Imo and Abia states among many others took reiterated their call for the National Working Committee (NWC) of the obey the Supreme Court ruling that explicitly reaffirmed the position of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the party.
Speaking to some of the issues fueling the crisis in the party in the Southeast zone in a Communique signed at the end of the meeting, the stakeholders unanimously called on the NWC and the general public disregard the meeting held at the behest of the expelled former National Vice Chairman, Mr. Ali Odefa.
The stakeholders also reiterated their call for the immediate conduct of Congresses in Ebonyi amd Anambra State who do not have valid State Working Committee at present.
The communique recalled several judgments that affirmed the suspension and subsequent expulsion of Mr. Ali Odefa as the National Vice Chairman of the PDP Southeast and afterwards urged the Zonal Working Committee to immediately institute a “Contempt of Court” Proceedings against the former zonal chairman.
The Stakeholders also urged all party members and leaders to support the Senator Bukola Saraki led reconciliation committee of the party to mediate on the lingering crisis and leadership skirmishes in the interest of the survival of the party
The full communique reads:

SECOND PDP SOUTH EAST STAKEHOLDERS MEETING

HELD THIS 19TH DAY OF MAY, 2025 IN FCT, ABUJA

BACKGROUND:

1. On the 11th day of May,2025 the PD had an expanded meeting of its Governors Forum, which had in its attendance Former Governors of PDP, some NWC Members and other major stakeholders aimed at resolving lingering political misunderstandings in the PDP Family.

2. The aforesaid meeting in its wisdom set up a-7 man reconciliatory Committee headed by a former two-time Governor of Kwara State and President of the Senate of National Assembly, Dr. Bukola Saraki to calm down the frayed and navigate the best way to have a smooth National Executive Committee Meeting and National Convention.

3. Earlier, on the 8th day of May,2025, one “Hon. Chief James O. Ugwu”. had purporting to write as Zonal Secretary, PDP, South East Zone, sent out invitations to diverse persons for a Zonal Executive Committee Meeting of the PDP, South East to hold at Banquet Hall, Old Government Lodge, Abakiliki Road, Enugu State on Wednesday, 14th May, 2025.

4. On the said 14th day of May, 2025 there was no meeting as stated in the said invitation and notice of a change of venue, but a meeting was held at Lion Building, Government House, Enugu State, which as reported in the print and electronic media was said to be a meeting of the Zonal Executive Committee, South East, presided over by one expelled former National Vice Chairman, South East, PDP, Chief Ali Odefa.

5. The attendees, in what was an obvious plot to torpedo the noble objectives of the Dr. Bukola Saraki-led Reconciliatory Committee, at the end of the said meeting issued a communique, read by Chief Ali Odefa, purporting to be the National Chairman, (South East), albeit falsely, claiming that the South East Zonal Executive of PDP “…unanimously recommended Hon. Sunday Ude-Okoye, as a candidate to complete the term of office of the National Secretary” and that unless this is done “… the South East PDP as a family will be compelled to reconsider our relationship with the PDP going forward”.

6. Realizing the effect of allowing the false narrative captured in the accursed communique to be accepted in the political space as the proper and lawful state of affairs, and conscious of the lethal legal consequences on the structure of the PDP in the South East of allowing the decisions of an illegal gathering of usurpers in the hallowed recesses of Government House, Enugu to be acted upon as the decision of ZEC, South East,

7. We, PDP South East stakeholders comprising BOT members, National Working Committee members, former Governor, Senators, Honourable members of House of Representatives and House of Assembly Members, past and present, the National Vice Chairman, South East and Zonal Working members and major high net worth members of the PDP across the States in the South East hereby, resolve thus:

RESOLUTIONS:

1. We commend the leadership of the PDP for setting up the Dr. Bukola Saraki-led Reconciliatory Committee and we are hopeful that the outcome will be in line with the legal status of the state of affairs in the PDP as espoused in the constitution and decisions of the courts, and that major gladiators would abide by the outcome. It is hoped that the vile aim of the outcome of said meeting held at Government House, Enugu directed by the conveners and attendees at sabotaging the effort of the Reconciliatory Committee would come to nought.

2. The Supreme Court has settled, with finality, the status of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, and it is on record that the INEC has, rightly, given effect to the said judgment, which is the right thing to do.

3. In view of 2 above, we hereby serve a note of advice that, in the administration of the PDP, it is impossible to ignore the lawful status of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the PDP and any attempt to stand against this clear position of the law will cause irreversible political damages because INEC would not give effect to the outcome of conventions, congresses and primary elections that do not have the signature of the lawful National Secretary.

4. In the same breath, it is important to stress that the Deputy National Secretary can only act in the absence of the National Secretary as evident in the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party. The clear and express provision of the PDP Constitution is that the offices of the National Secretary and Deputy National Secretary are not conjunctive. Accordingly, the pathway of directing the Deputy National Secretary to act in a situation where the National Secretary is not absent is an endorsement of illegality, which cannot stand legal scrutiny.

5. We, therefore, call on the National Working Committee and in particular, the Acting National Chairman, to abide by the clear provisions of the Constitution of the PDP and comply with the Supreme Court judgment in order to steer the Party on the path of legality.

6. The PDP is a political party which evolved on the altar of constitutional democracy founded on respect for the rule of law. On this note we demand that the Board of Trustees, the conscience of the Party, and the Governors Forum must give full effect to the tenets of rule of law, and the manifest implication of this historic burden, is that both bodies, do not have a choice other than to respect the status of Senator Samuel Anyawu as the lawful National Secretary.

7. The recommendation and threat by the attendees at the meeting held in Government House, should be ignored because the said meeting was not a lawful meeting of any organ of the PDP arising from the fact that:

(1) Hon. Dr. Chief Ali Odefa, had, several months ago, ceased to be a member of the PDP, following his expulsion by his ward, a state of affairs that was given judicial confirmation in a final judgment of the 26th day of January, 2025 by the Federal High Court, Holden at Abakiliki, in SUIT NO. FHC/AI/227/2024 : HON. IDIKA MOSES EZE & 3 ORDS V. CHIEF ALI ODEFA & 2 ORDS.

(2) The Zonal Congress being touted by Hon. Ali Odefa which purportedly held on the 26th day of February, 2025 was not the Zonal Congress of the PDP. This is because there was a valid court order of the Federal Capital Territory, in SUIT No. FCT/HC/CV/325/2025: BARR. MIKE NATHAN NWANKWO V. PDP &5 ORDS. stopping the congress. In addition, the presence of Anambra State delegates at the Congress effectively nullified the said Congress because those delegates were not the lawful delegates of the PDP of Anambra State arising from the order of the Federal Capital Territory in SUIT NO. FCT/HC/ 3271/ 2024 MOSES N. AKAM & ANOR V.PDP & 3 ORDS. which nullified the delegates’ list. This is, also, the same with the delegates list of Ebonyi State which was nullified by the decision of the Federal High Court on the 11th day of November, 2024 in SUIT NO: FHC/AI/ CS/183/2024HON. NNENNA LYNDA UDE & 12 ORDS V. PDP & ANOR. Finally on this point, the spurious court order of the High Court of Enugu State in SUIT NO: E/132/2025 HON HIGH CHIEF DR. ODEFA ALI OBASI & ANOR. V. PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY procured by Chief Ali Odefa and his co-travellers upon an ex parte application was rightfully rendered otiose when the suit was discontinued and struck out on the 24th day of March, 2025.

(3) The venue of the meeting was changed without any notice to persons who desired to attend the meeting was taken to the protective hall in Government House were persons were admitted and excluded at will.

(4) By the extant legal status of the PDP in the South East, Hon. Chidiebere Egwu is the substantive National Vice Chairman. Our position is founded on the fact that the PDP in Ebonyi State nominated Hon. Egwu to replace Hon. Odefa as National Vice Chairman, following the lawful expulsion of Hon. Odefa. Thereafter the status of Hon. Egwu Chidiebere Goodluck as the National Vice Chairman, South East, was affirmed in a final judgment of the court on the 10th day of April,2025 by the Federal High Court, Holden at Abakiliki, in SUIT NO: FHC/AI/CS/2/2025: EGWU CHIDIEBERE GOODLUCK V. CHIEF ALI ODEFA AND 2 ORDS wherein the court ordered that the Plaintiff, Egwu Chidiebere Goodluck, is the authentic National Vice Chairman, and restrained Chief Ali Odefa, the First Defendant, from parading himself as such National Vice Chairman. The very words of the Court went thus:

( e ) That an order of this Honourable Court is made mandating/directing/compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission for itself, its agents, organs, servants, workmen, privies etc to recognize/relate with the Plaintiff as the National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic party for the South East Zone of Nigeria including giving effect to all his decisions and accord him all the privileges/benefits accruing to the National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party for the South East Zone of Nigeria in view of his nomination as the substantive National Vice Chairman for the South East Zone of Nigeria.

(f) That an Order of perpetual injunction of this Honourable Court is made restraining the 1st Defendant from parading himself as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party and/or as the National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party for the South East Zone of Nigeria and from continuing to perform the roles or exercise the powers accorded to the National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party for South East Zone of Nigeria following his expulsion from the Peoples Democratic Party.

8. Accordingly, any meeting of the PDP which Hon. Dr. Ali Odefa attends or preside is null and void being infected by virus of fundamental illegality. In the event that any arm of the PDP relies on whatever that emanated from the meeting of the 14th May, 2025 or any other meeting in which Chief Ali Odefa presided or attended the implication is that the PDP South East will be threading on the path of illegality for which reason the attendees to the meeting should rather be encouraged to execute their threat rather than drag down the entire fabric of PDP.

9. The threat by the attendees of the meeting in Government House was not founded on any consultation with members of the PDP in the South East but the personal decisions of persons who have decided to weaken PDP in the South East before leaving it to join other political parties.

10. That the only lawful way of resolving all the issues is to respect the Constitution of the PDP and all decisions of the courts on the subject matter and on this note we commend the decision of the National Vice Chairman, Hon. Egwu Chidiebere Goodluck to commence the prosecution of Hon. Ali Odefa for contempt in parading himself as the National Vice Chairman of PDP in breach of an express order of court.

11. We also regard it as a complete negation of corporate governance for staffers of a corporate body to openly declare partisanship in corporate leadership. Accordingly, we urge the leadership of the party to take disciplinary measures against the errant workers in order not to set a dangerous precedent.