The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has opened high-level discussions with Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, in a bid to resolve the escalating leadership tussle surrounding the position of National Secretary.
The meeting, held on Tuesday at INEC’s Abuja headquarters, follows a formal invitation sent by the PDP for INEC to attend its upcoming National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on 30 June. However, INEC flagged the invitation as procedurally invalid due to its failure to carry joint signatures from both the national chairman and secretary.
Under INEC’s 2022 guidelines, official communications regarding party conventions or NEC meetings must be signed by both officeholders. The PDP’s letter, dated 30 May, was signed solely by Umar Damagum, the acting national chairman.
At the start of the engagement, Damagum acknowledged that the party had faced internal legal battles regarding the national secretary role and was seeking guidance from INEC for a way forward.
“We are here to interact off-camera and understand how to navigate this situation. The Supreme Court has ruled, and yet there’s no clarity,” Damagum said.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, confirmed the meeting was convened at the party’s request. He noted that, while the PDP has a longstanding record of complying with protocol, the recent developments raised concerns.
“For your previous 99 NEC meetings, the proper procedures were followed. But over the last few months, we’ve received at least five different communications with conflicting names listed as national secretary,” Yakubu said.
He listed those named over time as Sunday Udeh-Okoye, Samuel Anyanwu, and Setonji Koshoedo, adding that the last letter bore no secretary’s signature at all, presenting a procedural dilemma for the commission.
After a closed-door session, Damagum told journalists that the party’s leadership would reconvene with its national stakeholders to finalise a consensus and return to INEC within 48 hours.
In attendance at the meeting were top party stakeholders including PDP Governors Bala Mohammed, Seyi Makinde, Dauda Lawal, and Caleb Mutfwang, alongside former Senate President Bukola Saraki, ex-governors Ahmed Makarfi and Seriake Dickson, and other senior figures from the party’s National Working Committee.
