By Ayo Kehinde
The Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum has urged the party’s National Working Committee to respect the Court of Appeal ruling that sacked Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary and to implement the judgment without delay.
The appeal court judgment, delivered by the Enugu Division on December 20, 2024, affirmed the nomination of Sunday Ude-Okoye as the PDP’s National Secretary, replacing Anyanwu, who had emerged as the party’s governorship candidate in Imo State.
However, a power tussle between supporters of both men escalated into a physical confrontation at the 79th meeting of the PDP Board of Trustees in Abuja on Wednesday.
Rising from a meeting held at the Government House, Asaba, Delta State, on Friday, PDP governors reaffirmed their support for the appellate court’s decision and called on the NWC to set up machinery for its effective implementation.
“The forum noted with delight the ongoing efforts at resolving the crisis in the National Working Committee regarding the position of the National Secretary and has reaffirmed its support for the Court of Appeal judgment.
Consequently, the forum advised the NWC to put in place mechanisms for the effective implementation of the court ruling,” a communiqué issued at the meeting and read by the Forum’s Chairman and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, stated.
The governors also advised the NWC to reschedule the National Executive Committee meeting earlier fixed for February to March 13, 2025, to ensure all statutory notices required by law are adhered to.
“The forum, having examined all the notices required by law to validly convoke NEC, advised the NWC to reschedule NEC to March 13, 2025,” the communiqué added.
On the state of the nation, the PDP governors criticized the Federal Government’s macroeconomic policies, saying they had inflicted hardship and pain on Nigerians.
“The forum urges the Federal Government to either revisit or rejig its macroeconomic policies to mitigate or eliminate the hardship and suffering they have inflicted on Nigerians. No meaningful or impactful achievements can be recorded in the states until these harsh policies are addressed,” the governors said.
They also urged Nigerians not to despair amid the prevailing economic difficulties, assuring that the PDP remains committed to restoring the country to its pre-2015 era, marked by affordable living costs, security of lives and property, and greater national unity and prosperity.
The governors commended the Armed Forces and other security agencies for their continued efforts in securing the country and recent gains against bandits in parts of Nigeria.
However, they expressed concern over the resurgence of non-state actors and called for the strengthening of the country’s security architecture.