The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been plunged into an unprecedented internal crisis following a dramatic power play in which the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, publicly overruled a decision by the National Working Committee (NWC) to dissolve the Akwa Ibom State Executive Committee (Exco).
Senator Anyanwu, in a letter issued on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the NWC’s decision was announced, instructed the sacked state chairman, Mr. Aniekan Akpan, to ignore the directive and remain in office, declaring the NWC’s action as “null and void and of no effect.”
The Sudden Dissolution and Counter-Mandate
The turmoil began on Tuesday when the National Publicity Secretary, Honourable Debo Ologunagba, announced the dissolution of the Akwa Ibom Exco. Ologunagba had simultaneously named a 31-member caretaker committee, chaired by Igwat Umoren, to manage the state chapter, urging all leaders to “remain united and continue to work together for the progress of the Party.”
However, Anyanwu swiftly countered this move, asserting that Ologunagba’s press release should be “discountenanced” because “there was no formal sitting of the National Working Committee (NWC) in which such decision was taken.”
The National Secretary further stated that Ologunagba lacked the express power to take actions on behalf of the NWC without formal direction, providing a written directive to Mr. Akpan that the Akwa Ibom State Committee of the PDP “stands undissolved.”
Local Defiance and Escalating Tensions
Responding to the two conflicting directives from the party’s Abuja headquarters, the state chairman, Aniekan Akpan, has refused to comply with the dissolution. In Uyo, Akpan echoed the National Secretary’s stance, describing the NWC’s initial directive as “false.”
“We have it on good authority that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party that claimed to have dissolved the state executive council did not convene any formal meeting to take such a decision,” Akpan told journalists, confirming he remains in office, backed by the National Secretary’s letter.
A Pattern of Internal Conflict
This dramatic standoff in Akwa Ibom is not an isolated incident but a repeat of a high-stakes power struggle recently witnessed at the national level. Only last week, Senator Anyanwu openly defied the National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, concerning the postponement of state congresses in Cross River, Plateau, and Kebbi States.
While Damagum wrote to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) notifying them of the NWC’s decision to postpone the congresses, Anyanwu immediately sent a separate letter urging INEC to ignore the Chairman’s instruction, insisting the congresses would proceed. The congress in Cross River ultimately went ahead, electing Mr. Venatius Ikem, though the NWC later disowned the result as a “carnival.”
The Gubernatorial Connection
Sources indicate that the underlying motivation for the attempted dissolution of the Akwa Ibom Exco was a strategic move by elements within the PDP national structure to sever ties between the party machinery and Governor Umo Eno, who recently defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Governor Eno had previously made his intentions clear in a leaked video, stating a desire to maintain influence over the PDP structure in the state, even after his defection. He stated: “We would not leave the PDP for thieves to hijack and use it against us… Let the structure of the party remain.”
Now, with Mr. Akpan refusing to vacate his post, and influential figures in Abuja openly supporting him against the NWC, the battle for control of the Akwa Ibom PDP chapter has devolved into a constitutional crisis, raising serious questions about the coherence and leadership structure of the party nationally.
