Exclusive: NWC Will Seal Anyawu’s Fate Next Meeting – Ebonyi PDP Spokesman

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in its next meeting, will decide the fate of Senator Samuel Anyanwu, in the national secretary crisis.

In this exclusive interview with Naija News, Ebonyi State PDP’s Publicity Secretary and the former Media Director of PDP, South East, Nwafor Richard Nwali, spoke on the state of the nation, the party’s leadership crisis between Senator Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye, and the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

The former House of Assembly candidate of the PDP also spoke on the chances of PDP in Ebonyi, South East and at the national level in 2027. He disclosed the position of the party on coalition ahead of 2027 general election.

The PDP chieftain also explained the chances of the party in Anambra’s November governorship election. He said Governor Alex Otti of Abia State and Governor Chukwuma Soludo would be one-term governors.

This is the second quarter of the year and nearly two years of President Bola Tinubu’s government. What do you think about his economic policies?

“First and foremost, I want to commend the resilience of Nigeria. Because it is not easy to survive a harsh economic policy of the APC since 2015 they hijacked the government from the main opposition now being the Peoples Democratic Party, being our own party, the PDP.

“On the part of the rating the economic policy of the APC. It’s very unfortunate that APC does not have anything to offer Nigeria. Yes. I can give you some instances.

“One is that since they took over, our security architecture has collapsed. The infrastructural giant stride recorded by previous administration of the PDP has also gone into comatose.”

Would that mean you are scoring APC too low?

“Extremely low. Extremely low. If I’m to give them a point, I can give them 20%. I’m the spokesperson of the PDP in Ebonyi State and the former Media Director of PDP in South East. I can tell you that APC failed woefully.”

You gave APC 20%. Where are the oppositions that should hold them to account? Are they living up to their responsibilities? Is the PDP living up to its responsibility?

“I can tell you yes. I’ll also tell you no. Do you know why? In the sense that the era of the PDP taking to the street is over. Do you know why I told you it’s over?

“If you look at the level of opposition, opposition of today is not the opposition of yesterday. Where people go to destroy public infrastructures, government institutions, at the end of the day, it will all end up on the pages of newspapers.

“So no, in the sense that the main opposition PDP can be rated as not all that resilient as experienced during the time that the APC sponsored a campaign of calumny against the PDP.

“If you can recall during the time of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan under PDP, Nigerians enjoyed the dividends of democracy. Can you agree with me?

“Do you know that the APC claimed that the Boko Haram and bandits have all been defeated? But as we speak now, many villages are under attack, have also been ransacked by the non-state actors, masquerading as either Boko Haram or bandits or other agitating groups. Are you with me?”

So the opposition, are they holding APC to account for these policy flops?

“Yes. They are holding them accountable. I said yes. Why I said yes is that if you can recall, there is no country on this planet, earth, that can develop under a corrupt system, under the APC as we are experiencing right now. The reason is that the APC is riddled with corruption allegations, some of them are still battling different investigations due to corrupt practices, during their times in office. There are a lot of things.

“Are they being held accountable? Yes. The opposition, even on social media handles of our party, we always condemn their actions and their policies.

“If you have been following the PDP, from onset, immediately they hijacked the presidency, from that day to today, we have never relented in our efforts to hold the APC accountable.

“Unfortunately, the APC is the worst ruling political party in the history of this our country Nigeria. A ruling party that does not listen to the people. A ruling party that does not in any way feel the plight of the people. Our people are faced with multidimensional challenges. Challenges from insecurity, economic meltdown, infrastructural deficit, collapse in our educational system. Our educational system is in shambles.

“You can go for a familiarization tour to our higher institutions. Most of the higher institutions do not have any learning material, talk of a qualified lecturer.”

Don’t you think APC would also say that the PDP contributed to it?

“PDP did not in any way contribute to the woes of Nigerians. Do you know why? Since 1999 to 2015 that the PDP was in power, Nigerians enjoyed evidence of democracy.

“Take for instance, an average Nigerian can not take a square meal as we speak now. Forget about three square meals, I mean, a square meal. Most Nigerians are finding it extremely difficult to feed their families.

“I was talking with a friend of mine in the office today (Monday, April 7). Before we went for an inspection of the venue for our PDP primary in Anambra. I was telling my colleague in the office that, Nigeria as it stands now, we do not need more universities; what we need now as a country is to upgrade the already ones we have. The more we keep approving more universities, the more our educational system keeps collapsing.

“Most of our institutions do not have any prerequisite to boast of. They cannot be compared to any international standard. The global ranking of Nigerian universities is very, very low.”

Can we say that PDP’s leadership crisis is resolved?

“Yes.”

If that is the case, who is the National Secretary of the PDP?

“The Supreme Court made it very clear that internal disputes of any political party are an internal affair. And the Supreme Court also made it very clear that the PDP has an absolute power to resolve their challenges, being the crisis rocking the party before.

“As we speak now, the National Secretary of the PDP is Rt. Honourable S.K. E Ude-Okoye. The former national youth leader of the PDP.

“So the agitation from the camp of Senator Samuel Anyanwu is dismissed. It’s totally dismissed. Yes. Moreover, PDP is one umbrella.

“Let me state categorically that PDP does not have any camps, any faction. PDP is one umbrella no one can destroy. If we can survive this issue since 2015, I don’t think PDP will die.

“And we commend the Supreme Court for their landmark judgement, for affirming Ude-Okoye. It has clearly shown that the PDP as a party is finally back to the track.”

Since PDP is finally back, when is PDP’s NEC? On March 8, a press statement signed by Ude-Okoye stated that NEC was shifted to March 15; but, March is gone. So, with PDP being back, when do Nigerians expect NEC?

“As we speak now, the PDP Secretariate is on recess. Immediately we are done with the Sallah celebration, the PDP secretariate will resume normal activities, after the recess for the Sallah. Immediately the secretariate resumes activities, the NWC will sit.

“In that sitting, they will take critical decisions that will finally lay to rest whether Anyawu is claiming to be the secretary. According to what I see on social media. You know, my personality, I’m above joining issues with those of social media.

“What I’m saying in essence is PDP is one. We do not have factions or camps as some people would say Atiku’s camp. Some would even say Honourable Nwafor camp.”

Is PDP planning a merger? Is the PDP going to align with any merger or coalition?

“The PDP has made it very, very clear. And as a political party, we don’t join issues with people.
The PDP from inception, we have made it very, very clear that we are not for any merger. It’s very, very clear.

“We have people of high pedigree. We have the level of structures that can make policies and programmes that will better the lots of Nigerians. What is the need for the merger? But I can tell you, with unity of purpose of the PDP, we will build a resilient political party more than a merger.

“Let me take for instance, let me take you down to the memory lane, if you can remeber when Nigerians came up with Labour Party, as we speak now Labour Party is dead.”

Labour Party is Dead? Even after the Supreme Court judgment? Both camps in LP are laying claims to the judgment which some analysts can attribute to what Senator Anyanwu is also doing?

“The case of the PDP, it’s very, very clear compared to the case of the Labour Party. Do you know why? The PDP has a unified NWC. Do you know why I said unified? The PDP does not have two national chairmen. We have one national chairman. We have one national secretary. We have one national legal adviser. We have one national publicity secretary. Are you getting me?

“The one of Labour Party, Julius Abure is there, Akpata is there. Alex Otti, Peter Obi and Nenadi Usman also have their own Labour Party. PDP is not like that. PDP does not have factions. We have one unified NWC.”

Let’s return to the Southeast and Ebonyi State, your constituency. Considering that PDP lost some of its staunch members like Senator Anyim Pius. Is PDP still alive in Ebonyi State? If it is alive, is it living up to its opposition responsibilities?

“The situation of PDP in Ebonyi State is that we are fully alive and we also live up to the expectation as major opposition party.”

Can you give me examples?

“We have been able to have a unified Ebonyi PDP. We have a single state working committee or you can call it a single state executive. We do not have, some people may lay claim that they belong to some factions, but mind you that even if you claim or say, or you purport that you belong to some faction, you still oblige and also guided by the principles of the state working committee, that is one, under the chairmanship of Chief Onyema Nwene.

“From day one, PDP Ebonyi State did not conduct two congresses. We conducted a single-ward congress, local government congress and state congress. I can tell you in all honesty that the PDP in Ebonyi State is resilient, is active and has all it takes to win election, to take over the state in 2027 as major opposition.”

Really? Considering that some stakeholders, like Anyim Pius Anyim, left the Party?

“Yes. Anyim Pius Anyim has one single PVC. Did Anyim Pius Anyim have more than one PVC? Every Nigeria has one.”

He has political influence and followers?

“There’s a difference between a deep-rooted member and a fan. You understand? I can have one million fans on social media and I can lose a ward election. I can have less than three fans on social media and I can still win as local government chairman, even as a governor.”

So what you are saying is that Ebonyi PDP will reclaim lost seats in 2027?

“It is sacrosanct. It is sacrosanct. Because we are deep-rooted at the grassroots. Yes. We are not internet political party, we are deep-rooted. Politics is local. Politics is not a social gathering. It is about the welfare of the people. That is why it is called PDP – Power to the People. We give the people what they deserve as dividends of democracy, not like the APC.

“It is not that I’m claiming it. I’m giving you the facts. Why I’m giving you the fact is that as the spokesman of PDP in Ebonyi and the former media director of PDP in South East, I can attest to the fact that the PDP has all our structures in the grassroots intact. Nobody joined Anyim Pius Anyim to APC. The PDP in different localities is intact.”

You were a former media director of PDP Southeast. PDP has lost so many grounds in the Southeast too. Do you think there will be a change in 2027?

“In 2027, the PDP is going to reclaim the whole South East. I can tell you from the reality and fact that the PDP is poised to take over South East in 2027. The reason is that the APC is deceiving the people.

“The Labour Party that is managing Abia State is nowhere to be found in the politics of Nigeria. That is why Alex Otti is battling his life in the party. And the PDP in Abia State will present a viable candidate that will defeat Alex Otti before 12 am, in 2027 general election.

“Look at Imo State, I was in Imo yesterday (Sunday, March 6th), there is no single improvement, either in security, either on education, either on road infrastructure, just name. They are zero level. And it is being managed by the so called APC.”

So what is the chance of PDP in Anambra? What do we expect to see?

“PDP in Anambra is resilient more than any other PDP in the South East. Expect to see a viable candidate we are going to produce tomorrow (Tuesday, April 8), in Anambra.

“The emergence of Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, has brought the resignation of key stakeholders of APC from the party. How can you expect such a candidate that emerged through irregularities to win election.”

Can PDP candidate in Anambra unseat Governor Chukwuma Soludo?

“That one is sure. I can tell you that our candidate we are going to produce tomorrow (Tuesday, April 8) is going to unseat Charles Soludo. You know why? Charles Soludo did not emerge from a strong and a well-edified party congress. It was a fraud. How can a party like APGA use voice votes to accept Soludo as its sole candidate.”

Have You considered that Soludo is in control of the state’s apparatus?

“Yes. But that should not give him the authority to hijack the party’s structure, thereby stifling the interest of others. That you are a sitting governor does not make others nominal members of the party. I think you know. Each and every one of you has an equal right to be voted for and to vie for any political office. As as governor you can leave that party and join another political party.”

So what you are assuring Nigerians is that PDP is coming back stronger in 2027?

“Yes. Not only that I’m assuring Nigerians; PDP is already stronger ahead of 2027. Even if 2027 comes up tomorrow, we are ready to take the challenges of 2027, even if it comes up tomorrow.

“And we are going to present the best candidate of impeccable character that is grounded not only in politics but in governance.”