The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed claims that the party’s 100th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, scheduled for Monday, June 30, 2025, has been postponed.
In a statement released on Wednesday and signed by several top officials of the party, the NWC made it clear that the NEC meeting date remains unchanged.
They also denied the alleged reinstatement of Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s National Secretary, pushing back against comments made earlier in the day by the party’s Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum.
Earlier, Damagum had told reporters that the NEC meeting had been postponed and that Anyanwu would return to his position as National Secretary. However, this statement sparked immediate reaction from within the PDP leadership.
The NWC swiftly responded, saying Damagum’s comments did not reflect the decisions made by the party’s leadership at the 99th NEC meeting. According to the NWC, that previous meeting clearly scheduled the next NEC gathering for June 30 and directed that all discussions concerning the office of the National Secretary be addressed at that meeting.
“The pronouncements by the Acting National Chairman have no foundation as no organ of the Party (including the NWC), individual or group has the power to cancel, overrule, veto or vary the resolution of the National Executive Committee (NEC),” the statement read.
The NWC further noted that Section 31 (3) of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017) places the NEC just below the National Convention in terms of decision-making authority. Because of this, any resolution passed by the NEC is considered binding on all members and party structures.
Regarding Anyanwu’s alleged return, the NWC called Damagum’s announcement “misleading” and insisted that the matter was still to be discussed at the upcoming NEC meeting. The committee noted that no individual, including the Acting Chairman, can preempt the outcome of that scheduled session.
The statement was signed by several key PDP figures, including Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; Acting National Secretary, Setonji Koshoedo; National Treasurer, Ahmed Yayari Mohammed; National Auditor, Okechukwu Obiechina Daniel; and National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba. Other members of the NWC also joined in rejecting Damagum’s claims.
