*Says PDP leadership crisis is self inflicted
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
National Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Sen. Samuel Anyanwu has said that the crisis currently rocking the party is self-inflicted, reasoning that it can be resolved through the constitution of the party.
Anyanwu disclosed that the plot to remove him as the party’s National Secretary was hatched by the party’s National Vice Chairman, South East whose tenure was about to expire and he quickly misled the governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah to compel him to resign so that Ude-Okoye from Enugu state will come in as replacement while Odefa will return for another tenure.
Speaking with journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, the PDP scribe said that he cannot be sandwiched not be intimidated.
His words, “The then National Vice Chairman of the party South East, Ali Odefa, his tenure was elapsing and he wanted to remain as member of National Working Committee.
“He went, conjured and manipulated the governor of Enugu State, making him to believe that he can have the National Secretary of the party. I’m sure that the governor himself is not aware that the offices are shared among the states. “They jumped into it, because he knows that the next National Vice Chairman of South East is supposed to come from Enugu State and he knows that he will not get it back.
“So he wanted to return because his tenure ended on March 3rd or so. That’s how this whole issue started. He now connived with his friend, who is Governor Makinde of Oyo state, to pressurize Enugu to bring Ude-Okoye in and they went to court.
“During the flag off of my campaign, Enugu governor came and asked me to resign and I told him, I will not and he was so angry. How can I resign on the day of my flag off?
“He became angry and said that I am going to resign. So it’s about ego. So I should trade my position because of somebody’s ego?
He went further to point out that Odefa has ceased being a member of the party, stressing that any party activities he attends becomes a nullity.
According to him, “He (Odefa) was expelled by his ward, affirmed by his local government and then of course the state. They went to court and got an impeccable judgement. And this is part of the judgement: An order of perpetual injunction restraining the first defendant, Honorable Dr. Ali Odefa from parading himself as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party and or as the National Vice-Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party for the South East Zone of Nigeria and from performing the roles or exercising the powers of the position”.
