PDP crisis: No intimidation will make me deny Wike— Anyawu

As the crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party over the position of National Secretary remains unresolved, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who maintains that he is still the PDP National Secretary, stated that no intimidation will make him disown the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

In an interview with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Anyanwu questioned what offenses he could have committed for Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah to want him removed.

Since the 2023 elections, the PDP has been mired in internal conflicts, which intensified in December 2024 when the South East Zonal Caucus and a lower court recognised former National Youth Leader Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary.

While PDP governors, the Board of Trustees, and the National Working Committee accepted the court ruling, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, supported by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, challenged it at the Supreme Court. On March 21, the court nullified Anyanwu’s removal, ruling that internal party matters are beyond the judiciary’s jurisdiction.

Following the ruling, on April 14, PDP governors requested the South East to present a new nominee, resulting in Deputy Secretary Setonji Koshoedo being appointed Acting National Secretary. His nomination was ratified by the NWC during its 600th meeting on April 29.

Despite this, the dispute over the National Secretary position continues to divide the party’s leadership, with many blaming former Rivers State Governor Wike, who on Sunday withdrew from the PDP peace pact.

Anyanwu questioned the urgency behind some PDP governors’ efforts to remove him, especially with less than five months remaining in his term.

He stated, “My question is, what will Governor Makinde say that I did to him? Have I stressed him for any reason? Have I called him funny names? What is my sin? What is my problem with him? Have I done anything against him? What have I done against him? I consider him as my friend.

“When people have a motive, a vision, what would my vision be? Whether you want to be president, whether you want to be governor, what would my position do? My position will end by December. Election is 2027. Primaries are 2026. I will not be there. So what would my position now do?

“His Excellency, the FCT Minister, is my friend and my boss, and I can never, for any intimidation, deny him. Nobody can make me deny my friend because after position, there’s still life.

“This is what I tell my NWC members. We came here as a united family. It would be nice for us to go as a united family. So that we can still meet tomorrow and say we are brothers. We served an organization. Let nobody try to fragment the National Working Committee. We have been here for three years plus. We just have four months to go. Let us do it and go in peace.

“We just have a few months to go. Why would anybody want to break his head? Some people will say Senator Anyanwu, he is pro-Wike. What is pro-Wike? Everybody knows his role in this party. Everybody knows when it mattered most. He was there for the party.”

Anyanwu urged party leaders to handle the situation carefully to protect the future of the PDP.

He continued, “So, I think that our parties should be very careful. They should be very, very careful.

“And you see, I respect our governors. I respect them because I know it’s not easy to be a governor. But that you’re a governor does not mean that you cannot come out and tell your colleagues the truth. They know the truth. Why are they shying away from it? They know the truth.”