South-east will review its membership of PDP if crisis persists - Governor Peter Mbah
Peter Mbah, governor of Enugu State, has warned that the south-east region may reconsider its membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if the party fails to resolve its internal issues and respect the zone’s stake in its leadership structure.
Speaking to journalists after a closed-door meeting at the Enugu Government House, Mbah expressed deep dissatisfaction with the current state of the party, stating that the continued sidelining of the south-east zone, particularly in the matter of appointing the PDP’s national secretary, could force a reassessment of their affiliation.
“For the record, just as I stated during my interactive session with Fellows and Members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors in Enugu at the weekend, while I am still a member of the PDP, the south-east, and that includes me, reserves the right to review our continued membership of the party if the party is unwilling to put its house in order,” he said.
“That was invariably the position adopted during our last south-east zonal meeting held here in Enugu. During that meeting, the caucus noted that the party should not disregard the zone’s stand regarding the national secretary position. To all intents and purposes, this has obviously not been the case. So, there is no doubt as to where I stand on the matter. The position of the south-east with respect to the national secretaryship of the party as issued in that communiqué is sacrosanct.”
In a communiqué issued on May 14 after a meeting of the PDP south-east zonal executive committee in Enugu, the party “unanimously” recommended Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the next national secretary. The communiqué, signed by Ali Odefa, the PDP south-east zonal chairman, warned that the region would review its relationship with the party if it was sidelined in producing the secretary.
The zone also called on the PDP’s national working committee (NWC) to uphold its April 29 decision and allow the deputy to act as secretary until a substantive one is named.
Mbah said the conflicting positions of the NWC, the Board of Trustees (BoT), and the zonal executive committee reflect a broader frustration. “I’m simply fed up with the shenanigans that have more or less made the party an endless circus,” he added, while still expressing support for the national executive committee (NEC) meeting now scheduled for June 30.
Among those present at Sunday’s meeting were Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo; Adolphus Wabara, PDP BoT chairman; Odefa; former PDP national chairman Okwesilieze Nwodo; former governors Sam Egwu and Ben Obi; Josephine Anenih; and Udeh-Okoye.
Tensions around the national secretary position escalated last week when acting PDP national chairman Umar Damagum announced that Samuel Anyanwu would resume as the party’s secretary. That declaration came after a meeting between PDP governors, NWC members, and INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu. However, 11 NWC members released a statement on Wednesday refuting Anyanwu’s reinstatement and confirmed that the NEC meeting will proceed on June 30.
Anyanwu, Udeh-Okoye, and Setonji Koshoedo are currently locked in a dispute, each laying claim to the PDP national secretary position.