Udenwa Confronts South-East Caucus: “PDP Must Prioritize Constitution Over Personal Interests” — The Battle for Integrity!
Former Imo State Governor Achike Udenwa has strongly defended the position of the South-East caucus of the People’s Democratic Party PDP in the ongoing dispute over the position of National Secretary, declaring that the party’s constitution and zonal authority must be respected above all else.
Speaking on the contentious tenure of Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Udenwa, in an Interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, stated that the moment Anyanwu declared his intention to contest the Imo State governorship, he effectively relinquished his position as PDP National Secretary. According to him, the South-East zone, which is constitutionally responsible for producing the National Secretary, has already nominated a replacement candidate multiple times. However, their nominations have been continually rejected, prompting concern and frustration.
“We have done that about three time now so if our presentation is being turned down it means nobody wants us to make a presentation again.” he stated.
“We have made our position very clear. I don’t believe that whatever forces are behind Anyanwu are a stronger force than the south-East caucus because the south-east caucus is an established zone within party and if that caucus takes a decision, that decision is binding, and our recommendation to the national cannot be thrown away.”
Responding to suggestions Nyesom Wike influence factor in the PDP might be driving the pushback, Udenwa insisted, “Wike is a member of the party, member of NEC and a former governor in the party and that is as far as his own power goes.”
“I don’t know what extra powers he has, but whatever such powers maybe can never equate to a zonal caucus of the party, it can never be above the zonal executive of the party.”
“This party has a constitution, this party has a way of doing things, we cannot arrogate to one man the powers that he can override what a zone can do no matter who he is.”
He also cautioned against what he described as “amphibious brigade” members, those who defy party rules while maintaining their PDP membership. Udenwa warned that any violation of party discipline would be met with action, affirming the resolve of the disciplinary committee to uphold the constitution and sanction offenders accordingly.
On speculations that the crisis could push aggrieved members into the arms of the All Progressives Congress APC, Udenwa dismissed the idea outright saying “the issue of APC is ruled out what is happening to us today in PDP, APC has a hand in it, and I don’t blame APC they are exploiting the situation we are having and using certain people within our fold. At the same time APC can hardly be a destination for the South-East caucus.”
He also pushed back against claims that the matter with Anyanwu had been resolved, asserting that PDP has internal mechanisms to settle disputes and will survive the current turbulence. “This party was formed in 1998. A lot of people who are now pulling weight or trying to drag the party down were not there when it was formed, they were just joiners,” he said.
The party has withstood all the problems we have had in the past and we are going to withstand this present problem.”
Udenwa ended on a hopeful note, arguing that the PDP still holds strong grassroots support and remains the preferred choice for many Nigerians. “When you compare the country under PDP to the last decade of APC rule, our GDP, level of foreign loan, prices in the market, life of an average Nigerian should be compared to the times if PDP and APC which would Nigerians prefer? And it’s still very obvious that PDP is the choice of the people.”