The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crisis has taken a turn for the worse, with former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom and embattled National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu refusing to appear before a disciplinary committee. The committee, headed by Chief Tom Ikimi, had summoned them to answer allegations of anti-party activities.
Ortom, in a public notice, described the panel as illegal and claimed it violated the party’s constitution and the Cybercrime Act. He demanded an apology from the committee and threatened legal action. Anyanwu, on the other hand, cited a medical appointment as his reason for not honoring the invitation.
The Ikimi Committee had received petitions from some party members accusing Ortom and Anyanwu of anti-party activities. However, Ikimi clarified that the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar were not summoned because there were no petitions against them.
Benue PDP Chairman Ezekiel Adaji, who was also invited by the committee, questioned the authenticity of the petitions against him. He requested Ikimi to compel the petitioners to provide evidence to back their allegations.
The National Working Committee (NWC) is also divided over the national secretary saga. National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba announced that the NWC had resolved to recognize Sunday Udeh-Okoye as National Secretary, but Acting National Chairman Ambassador Umar Damagum denied this.
Damagum stated that the NWC did not meet to discuss the matter, and the Court of Appeal’s status quo ante bellum still stands. Anyanwu also objected to Ologunagba’s claim, saying it was improbable for the NWC to take further decisions on a matter still in court.
