I was elected, can’t be removed illegally – Anyanwu tells PDP Governors

Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the embattled National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has responded to moves by some party governors to replace him, insisting that he was duly elected at the party’s national convention for a four-year term and cannot be removed arbitrarily by a group of party members.

He described the action of the PDP Governors’ Forum as unconstitutional and contrary to both the party’s guidelines and national laws.

Anyanwu made his position known while reacting to the decision reached by the governors during their recent meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, where they named an interim National Secretary to replace him.

He vowed to return to his office at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja after the Easter break, maintaining that any attempt to oust him lacks legal backing.

“I am still the National Secretary of the PDP,” he said. “This isn’t the first time people have tried to use shortcuts that violate the party’s constitution and court rulings. The party’s legal adviser made it clear to the governors that their decision was wrong and that the Supreme Court has already ruled on the matter.”

Anyanwu also noted that his legal team had submitted the Supreme Court’s judgment to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), emphasizing that only correspondence signed by him and the National Chairman of the party would be considered valid.

According to him, allowing another person to sign in his place could endanger the legitimacy of the party’s candidates.

In support of Anyanwu, a PDP pressure group known as the PDP Frontliners cautioned against the governors’ action.

In a statement signed by its President, Engineer Abdulraheem Garba, and Publicity Secretary, Mr. Gabriel Adekoya, the group warned that such moves could weaken the party’s structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.