The KUKURUKU has exclusively learned that the National Disciplinary Committee of the People’s Democratic Party, led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Tom Ikimi received about 30 petitions against party leaders from the National Working Committee.
Although Ikimi announced only five petitions on Thursday, a senior NWC member, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated that the party leadership had handed over around 30 petitions to the NDC.
Ikimi’s led NDC has summoned former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and others.
In a statement shared with journalists on Thursday, Ikimi announced that those invited are required to appear before the Committee on Wednesday, 12th February at the Legacy House in Maitama, Abuja.
Recall that since and following the 2023 presidential election, the PDP has been grappling with internal conflict.
Some members have accused others of undermining the party’s interests and have called for disciplinary actions against those responsible.
In response, the PDP National Working Committee set up a disciplinary committee on August 21, 2024 to allow members to file complaints, hear both sides, and make recommendations to the National Executive Committee.
However, nearly five months after the committee’s creation, the crisis has worsened, with former National Youth Leader Sunday Ude-Okoye and Senator Samuel Anyanwu both claiming the position of National Secretary.
Despite the endorsement of Ude-Okoye by the Board of Trustees, led by former Senate President Adulphus Wabara, and the Governors Forum, chaired by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, the crisis persists.
This ongoing conflict continues to damage the party’s image and influence nationwide.
Ikimi revealed that the PDP NDC had reviewed five petitions that have been submitted so far.
The statement read “The National Disciplinary Committee of the Peoples Democratic party met on Wednesday, 5th February, 2025 at the Legacy House, Maitama, Abuja in line with its mandate pursuant to Section 57(1) of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party (as amended in 2017) relating to Party discipline.
“The National Disciplinary Committee considered five (5) petitions received so far; and following a detailed review of the petitions, noted that the first set of petitions were against some key members of the National Working Committee (NWC). The Committee came to the conclusion that in order not to jeopardise the ongoing reconciliatory efforts of the Governors’ Forum and the Board of Trustees, took a decision to step down those three (3) of the petitions against the top NWC members.
“The second set of petitions which were set down for enquiry are those against former Governor of Benue State, His Excellency Dr. Samuel Ortom, and 10 others and the petition against Distinguished Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
“Accordingly, The National Disciplinary Committee resolved to invite the affected persons to appear before the Committee on Wednesday, 12th February, 2025 at the Legacy House, Maitama, Abuja. Those expected to attend are the Petitioners and their witnesses on the one hand and the affected party members and their witnesses on the other hand. The required notices have been issued out accordingly.”
Ikimi guaranteed that the National Disciplinary Committee is dedicated to maintaining discipline within the Party and reinstating its integrity.
It read in part “The Committee reiterates that the National Disciplinary Committee is a constitutionally established Committee that is available to deal with matters brought before it fairly. Therefore, all those with genuine grievances against any member of the Party should take advantage of this Standing Committee and follow due process in bringing up their complaints.”
In response to The KUKURUKU inquiry, the credible source alleged that Ikimi’s committee had an ulterior motive in carrying out the assignment.
He stated “How can the Disciplinary Committee say they received five petitions when we handed over so many petitions to them?
“The NWC has handed about 30 petitions to the Committee. Almost all the states submitted petitions to the NWC, and they were handed over to the committee. Maybe Ikimi’s committee has an agenda, but the petitions are more than five.”
He explained that “Ortom was invited over a petition that came from (Gabriel) Suswam and others in Benue, while the former National Youth Leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye, who was recently recognised by the Board of Trustees and the Governors Forum, petitioned Senator Samuel Anyanwu, alleging that he was assaulted.”
When contacted to inquire about the names of the other 10 members invited to the committee, the secretary, Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, stated that he did not have the details of the additional 10 petitions.
In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, Jegede encouraged party members to trust both the Committee and the process.
He stated “Well, I don’t have the details, but I am sure the Chairman of the Committee will have them. I don’t have the details.“I urge members of the party and other Nigerians to trust the Committee and the process.”
When our correspondent reached out to Ikimi, he also denied knowing the names of other party members invited to appear before the committee.
In a related development, the Board of Trustees has officially sent the resolution from its emergency meeting in Abuja on Wednesday to the party’s NWC.
The BoT, led by Wabara, also included the meeting’s communique, the findings from the fact-finding committee led by former Minister of Special Duties, Saminu Turaki SAN, as well as copies of the Court Judgment/orders.
In an internal memo exclusively obtained by The KUKURUKU dated January 5, signed by the Chairman and addressed to the NWC, the BoT instructed the party leadership to immediately swear in Ude-Okoye as the substantive National Secretary.
The memo read in part, “The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) is hereby drawn to the attached Legal Opinion of the BOT Committee led by Dr. Taninu Kabiru Turaki, SAN; and the Communique issued at the end of the Emergency BOT Meeting affirming Rt. Hon. S.K.E. Udeh Okoye as the substantive National Secretary of our Party.
“NWC is hereby invited to please. study the report and its recommendation for inmediate implementation.”
The documents were stamped as received by the office of the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum.
Furthermore, as stated in the internal memo sent to the NWC, the Turaki fact-finding panel revealed that Ude-Okoye has been the authentic National Secretary of the PDP since 2023.
BoT Turaki’s panel stated “It is my well-considered opinion, after perusing and painstakingly going through all the court documents and processes given to me by the parties, that from the 22nd day of December, 2023, Hon. S. K. E Udeh Okoye is the authentic and bonafide National Secretary of our party.
“That he has not been sworn in by the Acting National Chairman and allowed to perform the functions of that office as directed by the Enugu State High Court and affirmed by the Court of Appeal is immaterial. This is because Equity sees as done that which ought to have been done. In other words, in the eyes of the law, he’s taken to have assumed office of the National Secretary of our party effective from the 22nd day of December, 2023.
“It may be argued that appeal(s) have been filed against the respective Judgments of the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division to the Supreme Court. But in our jurisprudence, an appeal does not operate as a stay of execution of the judgment it is filed against.
In the BoT memo to the NWC, Turaki noted that their position considers the pending application for a stay of execution of the Court of Appeal judgment in Appeal No. CA/E/24/2024, awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision.
The documents read in part, “Now for whatever reasons, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division was unable to hear that application on that day, and so adjourned same to the 27th of January, 2025.
“The Court however made an Order as follows: Accordingly, all Parties are enjoined to maintain the status quo ante bellum pending the hearing and the determination of the Motion on Notice.
“The Order of the Court was an interim one, pending the hearing of the motion on notice, and not the appeal, that would have made it interlocutory.
“If the Order was pending the hearing of the appeal, it would then have lasted for ever, until the appeal is heard, no matter how long it takes for the appeal to be heard.
“But because the intention of the court was just to give an interim order, the life span of that order cannot exceed two weeks. And that’s why the court adjourned the hearing of the motion on notice to the 27th of January, which will be complete two weeks from the 13th of January when the order was made.
As outlined in the document, Turaki explained that the Appeal Court Enugu judgment is a declaratory judgment that cannot be stayed.
He explained that even if the Court of Appeal in Abuja granted a stay on January 13, 2025, as reported, it automatically expired and became invalid on January 27.
It stated, “I have spoken to both Senator Anyanwu and Hon. Okoye about what transpired on the 27th, and they said that the Court did not sit on that day, and parties were told that a new date would be communicated to them in due course.
“So, this being the case, the Order of 13th, assuming that it had changed the status of Hon. Okoye from being the substantive National Secretary of our party, which is not conceded, it still would have died a natural death on the 27th, when the Court was unable to sit and extend it’s life span, if the need for that arose.
“All I have been trying to say is that as of Wednesday, the 27th of January when the BOT sat in it’s 79th regular meeting, the National Secretary of our party in the eyes of the law is Hon. S. K. E. Udeh Okoye, and he had been the National Secretary since the 22nd day of December, 2023. This position will continue till the appeals against the respective Judgments of the Enugu State High Court and the Court of Appeal Enugu are heard and determined one way or another by the Supreme Court.”
