The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders in the South East geo-political zone have split over the choice of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the consensus secretaryship candidate of the party in the region.
Anyanwu was said to have been endorsed as consensus candidate at last Thursday’s meeting of stakeholders of the PDP Southeast in Enugu.
Chief Madu Chinemerem, a national ex-officio from Imo State, had on Sunday, rejected what he called the imposition of Senator Anyanwu.
Chinemerem said governors Ugwuanyi of Enugu and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia merely came to the meeting and announced the selection of Sen Anyanwu, stressing that most of the people who attended the meeting, including former Governor Emeka Ihedioha, refused to accept it.
However, Ihedioha yesterday denied rejecting Anyanwu’s candidature for the position of secretary of the PDP.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Chibuike Onyeukwu, he said nobody should play politics with the matter which was not an issue in the contest.
Anyanwu, who obtained the forms at the PDP National Secretariat yesterday, dismissed the notion that he was imposed by party leaders.
Asked whether Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State influenced his emergence, Anyanwu said: “I was nominated by consensus by governors and leaders of the South East. Governor Wike is not from the South East and couldn’t have played a role in my emergence.”
But another contender who submitted his nomination forms for the position of national secretary yesterday and a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP, Okey Muo-Aroh, said the office was originally micro-zoned to Anambra.
Muo-Aroh, who also spoke at the national secretariat, said the position was unexpectedly rezoned to Imo last Thursday.
He said the people of Anambra State had rejected the move which had affected people who had been consulting over the position.
Meanwhile, two aspirants obtained nomination forms for the positions of Deputy National Chairman, North and Deputy National Financial Secretary.
They are Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum and Hon Adamu Kamala respectively.
