By Myke Agunwa
Despite the defection threat issued to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the South-East stakeholders if the nomination of Hon. Sunday Ude-Okoye as Acting National Secretary is rejected by the party, former Imo State governor, Achike Udenwa on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of the zone emptying into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The party has been thrown into factions since November 2024, when Anyanwu secured the Imo State governorship ticket and the zone nominated Hon. Ude-Okoye as a replacement. They claimed that their action was in line with the party’s electoral guidelines and cited previous situations to back up their decision. The matter was thereafter contested up to the Supreme Court, which held that courts lack jurisdiction over leadership tussles in any political party.
The former governor accused the APC of fomenting the crisis that has bedeviled the main opposition party lately but expressed confidence that the party will resolve all the contending issues.
He said that despite the crisis, PDP is still a choice political party for all Nigerians following the level of governance it provided from 1999 to 2015.
“The issue of APC (All Progressives Congress) is ruled out. What is happening to us today in PDP? APC has a hand in it, and I don’t blame APC.
“They are exploiting the situation we are having and using certain people within our fold. At the same time, APC can hardly be a destination for the South-East caucus,” he said.
The former governor defended the Southeast’s position in the dispute, arguing that Senator Samuel Anyanwu ought to have resigned as PDP National Secretary when he declared his intention to run for the Imo State governorship election.
Udenwa revealed that the Southeast zone, which is constitutionally responsible for producing the National Secretary, has nominated a replacement candidate three times, but their nominations have been consistently rejected by stakeholders.
“We have done that about three times now. If our presentation is being turned down, it means nobody wants us to make a presentation again.
“We have made our position very clear. I don’t believe that whatever forces are behind Anyanwu are a stronger force than the South-East caucus because the South-East caucus is an established zone within the party.
“If that caucus takes a decision, that decision is binding. And our recommendation to the national cannot be thrown away,” the ex-Imo governor said.
Udenwa dismissed the insinuation that former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike’s and Anyanwu’s ally is responsible for the rejection of Ude-Okoye by the party’s stakeholders.
“Wike is a member of the party, member of NEC, and a former governor in the party. That is as far as his own power goes.
“I don’t know what extra powers he has. But whatever such powers may be, they can never equate to a zonal caucus of the party,” he said.
Udenwa cautioned against what he described as ‘amphibious brigade’ members, PDP members who defy party rules while maintaining their membership.
He warned that any violation of party discipline would be met with action, affirming the resolve of the disciplinary committee to uphold the party’s constitution and sanction offenders accordingly. He also expressed confidence that the party will found its footings soon.
“This party was formed in 1998. A lot of people who are now pulling weight or trying to drag the party down were not there when it was formed; they were just joiners.
“The party has withstood all the problems we have had in the past, and we are going to withstand this present problem,” he said.