ABUJA, Nigeria — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the notice submitted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for its forthcoming National Executive Council (NEC) meeting as failing to meet the regulatory requirements for political party notifications.
In a letter dated Friday, June 13, 2025, and addressed to the PDP leadership, INEC said the notification—submitted by acting National Chairman Umar Damagum—did not comply with provisions outlined in the commission’s regulations.
The PDP had earlier written to INEC on Friday May 30, 2025, informing the electoral body of its intention to hold its 100th NEC meeting on 30 June at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
The notice was signed solely by Damagum.
While the submission met the required 21-day advance notice rule for such gatherings, INEC stated that it violated a more specific provision of its 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, which mandates that both the national chairman and the national secretary must jointly sign notices for conventions, congresses, conferences, or meetings.
“The Commission draws your attention that the notice is not in compliance with the requirement of part 2(12)3 of the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, 2022 that provides the National Chairman and National Secretary of the Party shall jointly sign the notice of convention, congress, conference or meeting and submit same to the Commission,” the letter reads.
The development exposes the ongoing internal leadership tussle within the PDP over the rightful occupant of the party’s national secretary position.
Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Udeh-Okoye have both laid claim to the office.
In December 2024, the Court of Appeal ruled that Udeh-Okoye should assume the position after the PDP’s South-East Zonal Executive Committee nominated him to replace Anyanwu, who had emerged as the party’s gubernatorial candidate for Imo State in the 2023 elections.
Anyanwu, however, had secured a series of court injunctions to prevent his removal from office.
But in a ruling delivered on 20 December 2024, Justice Ridwan Abdullahi of the Court of Appeal dismissed those judgments as “lacking in merit.”
Following the appellate ruling, Udeh-Okoye asserted that he was the legitimate national secretary of the party.
Anyanwu responded by filing a notice of appeal and a stay of execution with the Supreme Court on the same day.
In March 2025, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court declined to resolve the dispute, ruling that the matter was an internal party issue beyond the scope of judicial intervention.
