The Southeast Zonal Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has issued a stern warning to the party’s national leadership, threatening to reconsider its membership status if its nominee for the office of National Secretary, Hon. Sunday Ude-Okoye, is not ratified without further delay.
The warning came after a zonal meeting held in Enugu on the heels of a directive from the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), which at its 600th meeting on April 29, 2025, mandated the Southeast zone to nominate a candidate to fill the vacant position.
Reading the communiqué on behalf of the zone, the PDP National Vice Chairman (Southeast), Chief Ali Odefa, announced that the zone had unanimously reaffirmed its nomination of Hon. Sunday Ude-Okoye.
“The Southeast Zonal Executive Committee exhaustively deliberated on the directive of the NWC and came to the conclusion that it offered a sure pathway to peace, unity, stability, and progress of our party,” Odefa said. “Consequently, the ZEC unanimously recommended Hon. Sunday Ude-Okoye as a candidate to complete the term of office of the National Secretary.”
The ZEC also urged the NWC to adhere to its resolution by allowing the Deputy National Secretary to function in an acting capacity pending ratification by the National Executive Committee. “We also urged the NWC to uphold its decision at its 600th meeting on April 29, 2025, by assuring that the Deputy National Secretary of PDP functions as the acting National Secretary… in line with the recommendations of the PDP Governors’ Forum and adopted by the NWC,” the communiqué stated.
The Committee voiced concern over what it described as the repeated and unfair treatment of the Southeast in the process of filling national offices. “The Southeast Zonal Executive Committee further noted that the zone has had to go through this process repeatedly, unlike what occurs in the filling of vacant national offices by other zones.”
It also recalled that Sunday Ude-Okoye’s nomination was first made in October 2023, and subsequently reaffirmed in February 2024 and January 2025. “This position was reaffirmed during the February 20, 2024, meeting of the PDP Southeast Zonal Executive Committee. We also reiterated this during the meeting of the ZEC in Enugu on Friday, January 25, 2025.”
Highlighting the Southeast’s longstanding support for the PDP, the communiqué noted: “The Southeast has consistently served as a stronghold of the PDP from inception. In its near three-decade existence, we have given our loyalty and awe to the party.”
Chief Odefa also cited the region’s recent political gains as evidence of its continued relevance and contribution. “In Enugu State, for instance, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party is back to the PDP. Two members of the House of Representatives of the Labour Party are back to the PDP. Furthermore, PDP seats in the Enugu State House of Assembly have grown from 10 at the inception of the Assembly to 20 today.”
The Committee concluded with a clear warning to the party leadership. “It is on the strength of the above, therefore, that we hope that this time around, the position of the Southeast PDP regarding the office of National Secretary is accorded the honour and immediacy it deserves. This will bring to a closure the needless lingering disputes over this matter.
“However, in the event that our position is not properly implemented by the party, the Southeast PDP as a family will be compelled to reconsider our relationship with the PDP going forward,” the communiqué warned.
Political observers suggest the Southeast’s latest stance could further test the unity of the PDP, which has faced internal divisions and electoral setbacks since the 2023 general elections.
