Akwa Ibom PDP: Anyanwu counters Damagum on dissolution

The internal cracks in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) widened on Wednesday as the party’s National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, faulted the purported dissolution of the Akwa Ibom State Working Committee (SWC).

The announcement of the dissolution was made on Tuesday in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, claiming the decision was reached at a National Working Committee (NWC) meeting supposedly presided over by Acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum. A 31-member Caretaker Committee was also named to run the state chapter for three months, pending fresh elections.

But in a swift counter, Anyanwu dismissed the statement as invalid, insisting that no formal NWC meeting had authorized such an action. In a letter dated October 1, 2025, addressed to the state chairman, Aniekan Akpan, he maintained that the directive should be disregarded.

“For purposes of clarity, that press release should be discountenanced, because there was no formal sitting of the NWC in which such decision was taken,” Anyanwu declared, describing the dissolution as “null and void and of no effect.”

He further accused the publicity secretary of overstepping his mandate, stressing that it is not within his purview to enforce NWC resolutions. Reaffirming the legitimacy of the Akwa Ibom leadership, he directed Akpan and his team to continue discharging their duties under the PDP Constitution (2017, as amended).

The contradictory statements have heightened suspicions of a power struggle within the PDP’s top hierarchy, with insiders warning the clash could deepen factional divides and undermine the legitimacy of decisions taken in the party’s name.