National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Samuel Anyanwu, said yesterday that the campaign to dislodge him from his post stemmed from his friendship with Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike.
Anyanwu, who was restored to the position on Friday by the Supreme Court following protracted litigation, said he has all this while been a victim of some PDP members’ proxy war against Wike.
Reflecting on the battle to save his political career, the PDP scribe said he would always “feel justified that I have fought for a good cause.”
“I fought a battle for the truth, and that’s just the truth. As for those who assume or believe that I’m their enemy, I’m not anyone’s enemy,” he told The Nation in Abuja.
He described his judicial triumph as a victory for the people, for the entire party, and for justice.
He said: “I was elected as National Secretary of this party in October, 2021 and I have done my job diligently.
“I’ve met virtually everyone in the National Working Committee, in the PDP Board of Trustees, in the National Executive Committee and I have not won or triumphed over anyone.
“I have always believed that justice must prevail. The only thing that has just been proven is that no single person totally determines anyone’s fate in life.
“As for me today, I am not celebrating but I am happy that God has vindicated me such that even tomorrow, if I decide to resign or leave, I will always feel justified that I have fought for a good cause.
“As for those who assume or believe that I’m their enemy, I’m not anyone’s enemy.
“I know that many of my friends who appear to be fighting me have only been fighting a proxy war. But let me emphasise this: what is most important is the party.
“Since the day that I joined the PDP, I have never left the PDP for another party or come back to rejoin; I have always remained in PDP.
“So, I describe as an authentic member of PDP. Since 1999 to date, I have never gone to any other political party in Nigeria.”
Asked how the party could resolve the crisis that hit it in the run-up to the 2023 presidential election, Anyanwu said: “The way forward is for us all to come back together. I work for the party.
“As I said to my friends in the PDP NWC, we were all elected to serve the party. We may have our differences, but it is understandable.
“Even in a nuclear family, people quarrel and then reconcile. But in this case, there’s not even any issue to keep quarrelling about.
“I still believe that we are a family, and we came here together, and we shall continue to co-exist.
“Our tenure ends on the 9th of December, 2025. So, in the little time ahead of us, we should all work together, stay together and put the party together.”
He defended the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory over the recent revocation of PDP’s land on account of defaulting to pay ground charges.
His words: “The fact is that it is not just the PDP that is affected; similar problem affects even INEC, CBN, NNPC’s building and so many others.
“Let us not make a big issue out of it as if it is all about PDP.
“Before now, even before we came in as members of PDP NWC, we had been having issues over our new national secretariat with Jimoh Ibrahim who claimed that the land is his own.
“I know that the lawyers of the FCT stood by us.
“As a matter of fact, before the current issues began, our National Legal Adviser wrote a letter to the FCT Minister, which the National Chairman and I delivered by hand to the FCT Minister, and he assured us that nobody would claim what belongs to PDP.
“But you cannot be a tenant with my rent expiring and when you can’t renew it, you then start fighting your landlord.
“It’s either one pleads and look for a way to pay so as to remain a tenant or expect that something else would happen.
“That is what is going on!”
On threats by some PDP members to defect to a new party if he was returned as National Secretary of the party, Anyanwu dismissed them as speculations.
“Why would they be thinking of leaving just because I’m National Secretary? Most of those who are PDP governors today were not governors until after I came in as National Secretary.
“I ushered them in, I signed their (nomination) letters that we took to INEC. Some of them have only done two years as governors, but ask them if I ever took anything from them before signing their nomination as PDP candidates.
“Several of those who appear to be against me are only fighting a proxy war because of my relationship with the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who is my bosom friend and remains my friend!
“I cannot jettison my friends because of politics.
“Where I was coming from, long ago when we became friends, I never knew that I was going to become a National Secretary in PDP.
“And when he (Wike) needed me the most to support him while he was running as a presidential aspirant in PDP, I was not there for him.
“So now, what have I done to injure the party or anyone in it? It’s just mere speculations!
“PDP is too strong and too big to be drawn into being a mere part of any coalition. Rather, people should empty their platforms and come into PDP.”
