By Austin Uganwa, PhD
Southeast leaders of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) rose from an emergency meeting in Enugu last weekend and collectively dethroned the national secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu who is the party flag bearer in the November 11 governorship polls in Imo State. In his place, Hon Sunday Udeh-Okoye was unanimously nominated.
The Southeast national vice chairman of the party, Chief Ali Odefa who announced the outcome of the meeting noted that Senator Anyanwu's removal was undertaken to enable him concentrate on his governorship drive to avoid distractions. He emphasised that the decision taken by the Southeast leaders was guided by the party constitution.
Many PDP adherents in the state have manifestly received this turn of events in the party with gratification. Accordingly, there's a palpable feeling of liberation and optimism now sweeping across the party in Imo.
The reasons are evidenced-based. First, as governorship candidate of the party; natural justice, equity, good conscience and indeed the party rule inherently compel Senator Anyanwu to vacate his seat as national secretary and face the governorship race squarely in order to raise his chances of victory. Many party loyalists had also advised him on the decency to abide by these obligations which obviously fell on deaf ears, echoing clear signs of greed and insensitivity.
This realization underscores one of the key reasons why the Imo party members have embraced in the most inexorable manner the Enugu decision reached by critical party leaders.
Another crucial reason for their overwhelming support was offered by the zonal leader of the party, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State who underpinned the urgent need to revamp, remake and reposition the party in order to secure its future and restore the party's vanishing soul.
In all honesty, those who have watched and participated in the unfolding political developments in Imo PDP since Senator Anyanwu assumed duties as national secretary would attest that no known reconciliation, unity and even party rebuild can be enthroned in Imo PDP as long as he remains on that seat.
The facts are self-evident. His tenure as national secretary threw up lots of storm; factionalization and balkanization in Imo PDP. Prior to his debut as secretary the party was one cohesive and unified entity under the indefatigable leadership of H.E Emeka Ihedioha. Accordingly, the party was at that time waiting in the wings with robustness to return to the Douglas House.
Some specific scenarios essentially suffice here: The State Working Committee of the party has constantly been under the swordfight and pressure of Senator Anyanwu since his inauguration. He fought the SWC headed by Engr. Charles Ugwu up to the Supreme Court and lost supremely. Later, he spent handsomely to rally compromised Local Government party chairmen to the party National Working Committee headquarters in Wadata Plaza Wuse, Abuja where he held sway as administrative head of the party to push feverishly for the sack of the SWC members and again he lost woefully.
During the last primary elections to recruit those to fly the party's flags in the National and State Assemblies general elections, early last year, Imo PDP never knew peace because of Anyanwu's tendency to use his high political office to negotiate the outcomes of the primaries for his personal interest. This resulted in litigations, counter legal actions and infightings that waned the party's strength ahead of the general elections. In fact, some of the highly respected top party leaders were marked for serial campaigns of calumny and character assassinations.
The ripple effects were largely devastating. The Imo PDP was divided along the lines of Divine Mandate, a factional political group run by Anyanwu and then the rest of other party loyalists. As a result, a party that emerged incredibly victorious in the governorship, House of Representatives and House of Assembly elections only in 2019 crashed predictably in the 2023 elections.
Imo PDP members are innately aware that it was for the same abuse of power as national secretary that the best aspirant who won the keenly contested 2019 governorship election for our party, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha declined to run for the governorship primaries earlier this year.
Senator Anyanwu is known to be one of the luckiest politicians Imo State has produced. From a humble beginning, he climbed sequentially to LGA chairmanship position thereafter to member of Imo State House of Assembly before his elevation to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2015. On a platter of gold, he got the position of national secretary of PDP, a high office by any country's political standard.
But he has evidently failed to appreciate those who helped him to make these positions possible and the party he rode on its back to the enviable heights, given the worrisome state he has turned the party in Imo State.
Many leaders who labored to build Imo PDP and sustained it have left the party in droves accusing him of high handedness and divisive tendencies. Since a few months ago a hurricane of incredible decampments has hit Imo PDP under his watch which has never been witnessed in the history of the party.
With his sack last weekend as national secretary of PDP his fortunes are beginning to eclipse. The long awaited days of reckoning are already here, instructive of his limitations to manage success and use his exalted office to help his people and to grow the party at state level.
Many Ndimo PDP leaders strongly believe that his exit as national secretary would provide a veritable and arresting political space to genuinely pursue the reform and unification of Imo PDP as projected by the zonal leader, Governor Mbah. The chapters instituted by Ihedioha and the SWC and the wards are the most potent fronts to turn to effectively achieve this reform process.
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