The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, held a closed-door meeting with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at their Abuja headquarters.
Leading the delegation was the Acting PDP National Chairman, Umar Damagum, joined by top party members. The purpose of the visit was to resolve the confusion surrounding the position of the party’s National Secretary.
In his opening speech, Damagum thanked INEC for their cooperation and explained that recent court rulings and conflicting internal communications had caused uncertainty. He added that PDP needed clarity to avoid further controversy as the party moves forward.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, responded by confirming that the commission had received several conflicting letters from PDP over the past few months. These letters listed different names — including Udeh Okoye, Samuel Anyanwu, and Setonji Koshoedo — as the party’s National Secretary.
Yakubu expressed concern that the last communication from the PDP had no secretary’s signature at all, a break from tradition. He noted that PDP had correctly followed procedure for 99 previous NEC meetings but failed to meet the standard with the most recent one.
He urged the party to resolve the matter quickly and promised INEC’s full cooperation once the party clarifies its official position.
After the meeting, Damagum told the press that the discussion was “very fruitful” and that the party would hold a broader stakeholders’ meeting before the planned NEC gathering on June 30.