Anyanwu Moves Against Damagum in Fresh PDP Leadership Crisis

A fresh crisis has erupted in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), casting a shadow over the party’s planned National Convention in November. The National Secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, has nullified the dissolution of the Akwa Ibom State Working Committee (SWC) announced by the National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum.

In a letter dated October 1, 2025, Anyanwu declared that the National Working Committee (NWC) never held a meeting to decide on the matter, insisting that the move was unauthorized and therefore void. He stressed that the National Publicity Secretary, who had issued the press release on the dissolution, had no constitutional power to implement such decisions.

According to him, the Akwa Ibom SWC remains intact and should continue to function in line with the provisions of the PDP Constitution (2017, as amended). “For purposes of clarity, that press release should be discountenanced, because there was no formal sitting of the National Working Committee in which such a decision was taken,” Anyanwu stated.

This development deepens the rift between the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary, both of whom have been issuing conflicting directives. Earlier in the week, the National Publicity Secretary announced the dissolution of the Akwa Ibom leadership and the formation of a 31-member caretaker committee to oversee the party’s affairs for at least three months.