Embattled National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen Samuel Anyanwu, showed up for work, yesterday, at the party’s National Secretariat, Abuja.
 
Meanwhile, former chairman of the party in Bauchi State, Hamza Akuyam, has dismissed allegations by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, regarding the political influence of former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, in the 2019 governorship election.
 
Anyanwu drove into Wadata House without fanfare through the service gate behind the building and exchanged pleasantries with the handful of secretariat staff available before proceeding into his office.
 
His action came barely 48 hours after he petitioned security agencies to come to his aid and stop what he described as an attempt by the party’s 12 governors to cause chaos.
 
On Friday, the Governor Bala Mohammed-led 12-member PDP Governors Forum (PDPGF), in a communiqué issued after their monthly meeting in Asaba, Delta State, recognised Sunday Ude-Okoye as the National Secretary based on an Appeal Court judgment.
 
However, Anyanwu, who said he had a valid stay of execution order, insists on remaining in office until his pending appeal at the Supreme Court is dispensed with.
 
Although Udo-Okoye did not show up, a member of his camp explained that he decided to avoid a confrontation was strategic. The source stated: “We know Anyanwu’s game plan. He wants a confrontation to give the impression that Ude-Okoye is violent. We will not give him that pleasure.
 
“Besides, we are waiting for the Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC) to take action on our governors’ advice to prepare grounds for him to return to office. Our team follows due process.”

Meanwhile, the Secretariat is busy with everyday activities. Regular policemen and women attached to the complex can be seen at their duty posts.
RESPONDING in a statement entitled, ‘Bala Vs Wike: Because I Am Involved’, issued, yesterday, Akuyam accused Dogara of spreading “wild inconsistencies and falsehoods” in his claims that Wike manipulated the PDP primaries in favour of Governor Bala Mohammed.
 
He described Dogara’s intervention as a desperate attempt to distort history and align himself with political benefactors.  Dogara had alleged that Wike influenced the appointment of Chief Dan Orbih to oversee Bauchi’s 2018 PDP primaries, ensuring Mohammed’s victory.
 
However, Akuyam refuted this claim, stating that while Wike played a role as a stakeholder when Mohammed had already built significant political capital within the PDP.
 
“To paint Mohammed as a helpless politician who needed Wike’s deliverance is nothing short of a figment of Dogara’s imagination,” Akuyam stated. “If he has witnesses, let him bring them forward.”Akuyam attacked Dogara, accusing him of inflating his political relevance while failing to secure his All Progressives Congress (APC) nomination in 2019.