ENUGU — The leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-East has deepened as the zonal executive committee reaffirmed the renomination of Sunday Udeh-Okoye as National Secretary, despite ongoing disputes over zonal leadership.
This development was made public following a communiqué issued after a stakeholders’ meeting held on 14 May in Enugu, where party leaders in the region also warned of a possible defection from the PDP if the National Working Committee (NWC) fails to approve their nomination.
In a fresh twist, Chidiebere Egwu insisted on Thursday that he remains the authentic South-East National Vice Chairman of the PDP, not Ali Odefa, whom he claimed has been expelled from the party.
Egwu, in a statement from Abakaliki, dismissed as illegitimate a recent meeting held by Odefa and a group of stakeholders at the Enugu Government House. He asserted that the meeting lacked party recognition due to Odefa’s alleged expulsion.
He further stated that during a prior stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, key South-East PDP figures reaffirmed support for Samuel Anyanwu as the legitimate National Secretary. Notable attendees included former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Senator Michael Amah Nnachi, Paulinus Igwe Nwagu, Jones Onyeriri, and state PDP chairmen from Imo and Abia, among others.
Egwu urged the PDP NWC and the public to ignore the outcome of the Enugu meeting, stressing that a Supreme Court ruling had earlier affirmed Anyanwu’s position.
Despite these claims, the South-East zonal leadership has stood firm on its May 14 decision to renominate Udeh-Okoye, presenting the nomination to the party’s acting NWC. The zonal leaders reiterated that failure to honour their decision could force them to reconsider their continued allegiance to the party.
The development highlights deepening divisions within the PDP’s South-East bloc as internal power struggles threaten unity ahead of the 2027 general election.
