The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is engulfed in a deepening crisis as rival factions plan separate meetings over the National Secretary position, with police reportedly sealing off the national secretariat in Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently in the throes of a deepening PDP Crisis, marked by intense disagreements over the position of National Secretary and the highly anticipated 100th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, originally scheduled for Monday, June 30, 2025.
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A major showdown appears imminent as rival factions within the party are at loggerheads, with plans to hold separate NEC and National Caucus meetings concurrently in Abuja.
This escalating internal conflict has now been exacerbated by a heavy police presence at the party’s national secretariat.
Credible sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorisation to speak publicly, revealed that both factions have been actively mobilising their members and making preparations to attend their respective meetings.
Amidst this turmoil, a reliable party source also indicated that the Board of Trustees (BoT) was scheduled to meet today, though reports confirm this meeting was relocated due to the police barricade.
On Sunday afternoon, a faction led by Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, alongside embattled National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, National Organising Secretary Umar Bature, National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), Vice Chairman (North West) Senator Bello Gwarzo, and two other members of the National Working Committee (NWC), met and reaffirmed their position that an expanded National Caucus meeting should be held instead of the NEC.
This group advocates for Anyanwu’s reinstatement.
In a direct counter-move on Sunday evening, a majority of the NWC members, including Deputy National Chairman (South) Taofeek Arapaja, National Vice Chairman (South East) Ali Odefa, South East Caretaker Chairman Emmanuel Ogidi, National Woman Leader Amina Darasimi, acting National Secretary Setonji Koshoedo, National Auditor Okechukwu Obiechin, National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, National Financial Secretary Woyengikuro Daniel, and National Vice Chairman (South West) Ajisafe Toyese, insisted that the NEC meeting would proceed as scheduled with Koshoedo remaining as acting National Secretary.
The camp of Governor Seyi Makinde (Oyo), which includes Governors Peter Mbah (Enugu), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), Ademola Adeleke (Osun), and Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), along with 11 members of the National Working Committee and other senior party figures, has also firmly insisted that the NEC meeting must take place today as originally planned.
This powerful group is strongly opposed to the return of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s National Secretary.
Conversely, the opposing faction, led by former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, which includes Governors Caleb Muftwang (Plateau), Kefas Agbu (Taraba), Adamu Fintiri (Adamawa), and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), along with Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, National Organising Secretary Umar Bature, and National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), are staunchly advocating for Anyanwu’s reinstatement and the postponement of the NEC meeting.
The PDP has been grappling with persistent internal discord since its loss of power in 2015, enduring a series of leadership battles, mass defections, and unresolved congress issues across several key states.
To stabilize the party, Setonji Koshoedo was earlier appointed as acting National Secretary.
However, a fact-finding committee, led by Taraba State Governor Kefas Agbu, found that INEC still officially recognized Senator Anyanwu as the legitimate holder of the office.
Following this, the 99th NEC had agreed to schedule the 100th NEC meeting for June 30, and Damagum communicated this to INEC via a letter dated May 30.
INEC, however, declined the notification, stating that under PDP’s internal procedures, such letters must be co-signed by both the National Chairman and National Secretary, advising the party to comply with its constitutional processes.
Amidst growing tension, PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, stated at a press conference that INEC’s role was limited to receiving party notifications and not interfering in internal affairs.
However, Damagum publicly distanced the party from Ologunagba’s remarks, labeling them as personal views lacking broader consultation, describing them as premature and regrettable.
This deepening rift became more evident just a day after Damagum led a delegation to a high-level fact-finding meeting with INEC in Abuja.
At a press conference on June 25, Damagum announced the reinstatement of Senator Anyanwu as National Secretary and the postponement of the party’s 100th NEC meeting, describing it as a tough but necessary decision backed by the majority of party stakeholders.
He announced that an expanded National Caucus meeting would be held on June 30, replacing the earlier scheduled NEC meeting.
Six deputy national officers of the PDP, including Timothy Osadolor (Deputy National Youth Leader), Ibrahim Abdullahi (Deputy National Publicity Secretary), Okechukwu Osuoha (Deputy National Legal Adviser), Hajia Maryam (Deputy National Woman Leader), Adamu Kamale (Deputy National Financial Secretary), and Chubby Eneh (Deputy National Treasurer), endorsed Anyanwu’s return in a statement released June 25, hailing his reinstatement as a victory and affirming support for the June 30 National Caucus meeting.
In response, 11 out of 18 NWC members rejected Anyanwu’s reinstatement and reiterated their commitment to holding the NEC meeting on June 30 as scheduled.
These 11 NWC members, in a separate statement, stood their ground, insisting that the NEC meeting would proceed as initially planned.
They stated, “Furthermore, the claim by Amb. Damagum that Sen. Samuel Anyanwu has been asked to resume office as the National Secretary of the Party is therefore misleading being contrary to the resolution of NEC.”
They affirmed, “In the light of the foregoing, the 100th NEC meeting as scheduled for Monday, 30th June, 2025, has not been cancelled or postponed.”
A top party source from Makinde’s camp confirmed that the majority of NWC members and other critical stakeholders had made preparations for the 100th NEC meeting.
The source emphasized that the “PDP is bigger than any individual, and the most supreme organ of the party after the National Convention is NEC. And the 99th NEC on May 27 scheduled the 100th NEC for June 30.”
Addressing a press conference on Sunday night, PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Arapaja, flanked by other NWC members, insisted that the 100th NEC would hold today.
He stated, “The 100th NEC meeting will proceed as scheduled tomorrow Monday, 30th June, 2025 (today) at the NEC Hall of the Wadata Plaza, PDP National Secretariat, Abuja.”
He stressed that Section 31(3) of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017) makes the June 30 date binding, and no organ or officer has the power to alter it.
Arapaja also firmly rejected any purported notice circulating on social media suggesting the NEC meeting had been converted to a Special Expanded National Caucus meeting, stating it “did not emanate from the PDP and should be disregarded.”
He further clarified that the PDP Constitution has no provision for an “Expanded National Caucus,” making any such meeting unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, multiple sources from Wike’s camp continue to insist that today’s meeting is a National Caucus meeting, not a NEC session.
One source stated, “The meeting tomorrow (today) is the National Caucus and not the NEC meeting. The acting National Chairman announced this last week after the reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary.”
He added that an “extended National Caucus will give room to numerous members of our party that are not part of NEC to deliberate and come up with ways that will help resolve the pending issues.”
In a related development, Anyanwu issued a notice for Sunday, strictly by invitation, for an expanded National Caucus meeting, listing various stakeholders as invited guests.
Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, stated his support for the position of the NWC, BoT, and South East Zonal Executive Committee (ZEC) on the crisis, particularly regarding the NEC meeting.
Mbah, after a meeting with Governor Seyi Makinde, BoT Chairman Senator Adolphus Wabara, and South East Zonal Chairman Chief Ali Odefa, reiterated the South East ZEC’s stand to review its future with the party if its position on the National Secretary issue is not honoured.
Former PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Olabode George, stated he would attend the meeting regardless of its name, emphasizing the need for the party to move forward.
He said, “When we get there, we will sort ourselves out. Whether they call it NEC, leg or head meeting, the most important thing is that we are meeting tomorrow (today).”
Similarly, former PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, confirmed the meeting as a NEC session, emphasizing the party must not go against its own resolution.
Former National Secretary Senator Ibrahim Tsauri also supported the NEC meeting, stating, “If 11 members out of 19 members of the NWC and the BoT are not on the same page, the answer to your question is very difficult, because the two organs you talked about are constitutionally recognised organs of the party.”
He acknowledged the party’s history of internal crises and its capacity to resolve them.
In a broader reaction, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the PDP as a “dying party” that can no longer be trusted with power.
Speaking exclusively, APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, expressed satisfaction with the PDP’s crisis, stating it shows giving PDP 16 years to rule was a “big mistake.”
He concluded that for a party that cannot manage itself, “it would be suicidal to allow it to manage the country,” predicting the PDP “cannot survive this” as its “strength is weakening, their membership is depleting, they are always on a collision course.”
Meanwhile, police have taken over the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja, preventing the Board of Trustees (BoT) members from gaining access to the venue of their meeting.
The BoT meeting was consequently relocated to the Yar’Adua Centre. Some party officials reported that the police claimed to be acting on an “order from above” to seal off the location of the NEC meeting.
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However, the FCT Police Command stated that officers were deployed only “to maintain law and order and ensure public safety,” denying the secretariat was sealed.
