Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye, the two men locked in struggle for the position of National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), clashed at the commencement of the Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting of the opposition party.
The PDP, which is currently entangled in crisis from different fronts, held BoT meeting at its National Headquarters, on Wednesday.
The meeting was ongoing with Ambassador Iliya Damagum, Acting National Chairman, and Anyanwu seated before the arrival of Ude-Okoye.
The moment Udu-Okoye got into the hall, Senator Adolphus Wabara, BoT Chairman, was delivering a speech.
Udu-Okoye waited for the BoT Chairman to finish his speech before going round to greet those on the high table, excluding his rival, Anyanwu.
However, Udu-Okoye was later forced out of the meeting by suspected thugs, leading to altercation. It was around this time that journalists were asked to give way for a closed door session.
But Udu-Okoye was seen shouting and urging his supporters to prevent his ejection.
He later to the gate, lamenting injustice as Anyanwu’s men were allowed into the Secretariat but his own supporters were denied access.
As at the time of filing this report, Ude-Okoye was still outside while the meeting was ongoing.
The National Secretary position has has been a contentious issue since Anyanwu left to contest the Imo governorship position which he lost.
In his absence, the South East Caucus of the party endorsed Ude-Okoye to replace him.
After losing the position, efforts to reclaim his seat as the secretary threw the party into further crisis.
An Appeal Court sitting in Enugu had on December 20, 2024, upheld an earlier decision of a High Court removing Senator Anyanwu as the PDP National Secretary and affirmed Ude-Okoye as the authentic secretary.
Anyanwu has, however, filed for a Stay of Execution and Appeal, with Dr. Musa (SAN) nominated as the party’s legal counsel by Damagum, the crux of the new impasse. (Daily Trust)
