The Board of Trustees (BoT) of Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has publicly released documentary evidence to counter a claim of forgery levelled against the party leadership by its own National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
The dispute centres on an official notification sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) concerning the party’s upcoming Elective National Convention.
The controversy erupted after Senator Anyanwu alleged that his signature was forged on the correspondence transmitted to INEC regarding the convention, scheduled for November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan. Such an allegation, if proven, would carry serious legal implications and cast a shadow over the integrity of the party’s internal processes.
However, in a press statement issued on Thursday, October 23, 2025, from the office of its Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, the BoT presented a detailed timeline of events to assert that Senator Anyanwu’s claims are “baseless, misleading, and to say the least, reprehensible.”
The BoT clarified that the contentious INEC letter was in fact jointly signed by the National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, and Senator Anyanwu himself on August 25, 2025. Crucially, the signing was said to have occurred during the 102nd meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP, a gathering that included members of the PDP Governors’ Forum, the BoT, and other senior stakeholders who allegedly witnessed the process.
The Board’s statement suggested that the very act the National Secretary is now disputing was conducted in the open, before a significant portion of the party’s top echelon.
Further strengthening its counter-allegation, the BoT revealed that after the NEC meeting, Senator Anyanwu was formally inaugurated as the Secretary of the Contact and Mobilization Sub-Committee for the same 2025 National Convention.
In this capacity, the party asserted he actively performed his duties, including co-signing official communications and letters of appointment with the Sub-Committee Chairman, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State.
Most damningly, the BoT stated that Senator Anyanwu, as Sub-Committee Secretary, “personally signed and transmitted a letter seeking financial approval for the inaugural meeting of the sub-committee.” The party claims these verifiable correspondences, all bearing his signature, are in its custody.
The Board of Trustees, which serves as the party’s conscience and internal arbiter, expressed deep regret that the allegation was made public, stating it would have preferred to refrain from public engagement on internal administrative matters. However, it justified its detailed public clarification by citing “the gravity of this allegation and its capacity to mislead party members and the general public.”
The statement interpreted the forgery claim as “a deliberate attempt to cast aspersions on the integrity of the Party’s leadership and processes, and to misinform security agencies and the general public.”
In its conclusion, the BoT sought to project an image of unity and control ahead of the critical convention, which will see new national officers elected. It reaffirmed that the PDP remains “cohesive, resolute, and unwavering in its commitment to democratic values, transparency, and internal harmony.” The party assured its members and the public that the forthcoming convention would be “a credible and unifying exercise,” and called on all stakeholders to disregard Senator Anyanwu’s unfounded claims and remain steadfast in their support.
As of now, Senator Anyanwu has not issued a public response to the specific evidence laid out by the BoT, leaving the party and political observers awaiting the next development in this internal feud that threatens to distract from the PDP’s preparations for the next electoral cycle.
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