The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday met with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a bid to resolve lingering internal leadership issues that have created confusion within the party’s ranks.
Leading the PDP delegation were key governors, including Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara.
Other prominent figures at the meeting included former Senate President Bukola Saraki, ex-Kaduna Governor Ahmed Makarfi, Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro, former Bayelsa Governor Seriake Dickson, PDP National Organising Secretary Umar Bature, and Senator Ben Obi.
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The meeting, which later moved behind closed doors, was convened to address unresolved matters surrounding the party’s national secretary position.
Acting PDP National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, told INEC officials at the start of the session that they were there to seek regulatory guidance on the issue.
Notably, the two individuals claiming to hold the office of PDP National Secretary—Senator Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu and Sunday Udeh-Okoye— were absent from the meeting.
Damagum explained that the party wanted to clarify procedures after INEC rejected a recent notification for the PDP’s 100th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
The notification, sent to INEC on 30 May and signed solely by Damagum, was deemed invalid under INEC’s guidelines, which require both the national chairman and national secretary to jointly sign such notices.
In his opening remarks, INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, emphasised the importance of resolving the confusion over the party’s national secretary.
He pointed out that the commission had received conflicting communications from the PDP, each signed by different individuals claiming to be the national secretary.
“In recent months, we’ve had letters naming Sunday Udeh-Okoye as secretary, then later Samuel Anyanwu, followed by Mr Setonji Koshoedo, and then back to Anyanwu. The most recent letter had no secretary’s signature at all,” Mr Yakubu said.
He noted that INEC has always maintained an open-door policy with political parties and referenced a similar engagement with the Labour Party not long ago.
Mr Yakubu further remarked that the PDP had consistently complied with INEC’s requirements in the past, successfully inviting the commission to 99 NEC meetings properly signed by both the chairman and secretary.
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Speaking after the closed-door session, Damagum described the discussions as “very fruitful” but declined to reveal further details.
He said the PDP would reconvene with its broader leadership to deliberate on the outcomes before reverting to INEC ahead of the scheduled NEC meeting on 30 June.
Mr Damagum reiterated that the visit was essential to ensuring that the party’s next steps aligned with INEC’s regulations and to prevent further disputes within the PDP.
