The simmering leadership crisis in the Enugu chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) assumed a new dimension on Friday after Barr. Steve Oruruo declared that both a subsisting court judgment and the PDP Constitution have conclusively settled the question of who leads the party in the state.
Addressing journalists at a press briefing, Oruruo said the ruling in Suit No. E/1267/2025 of the Enugu State High Court expressly affirmed him as the lawful PDP Chairman in Enugu, with Hon. Martins Onyeanwa Ugwuamadi-Eze as the substantive Secretary. He noted that the judgment, rooted in Sections 45(2–4) and 47(6) of the party’s constitution, clearly states that the deputy chairman automatically assumes office once a chairman resigns or is removed.
He explained that the judgment was duly transmitted to the PDP National Secretariat through former Acting National Chairman Amb. Umar Iliya Damagum, compelling the national leadership to recognise the state executive as constituted. The court, he added, also restrained the National Executive Committee from appointing anyone else into the offices of chairman or secretary and ordered the former occupants to hand over all party property—an order he said has been obeyed.
Oruruo said he convened the briefing in response to what he described as an “increasing volume of discordant tunes” within the party. He condemned the motion passed at the Ibadan Convention seeking to dissolve the Enugu State Executive Committee, calling it illegal, unconstitutional, and a violation of the court’s ruling. He noted that the same officials purportedly dissolved were accredited and permitted to vote at the convention, further exposing the contradiction.
Against this backdrop, Oruruo described the motion at the Ibadan Convention to dissolve the state executive as fundamentally illegal.
He said:
“The motion… was not only misguided and prejudiced but a cruel travesty of justice.”
He questioned the validity of the move, noting that the same officials purportedly dissolved were accredited and allowed to vote during the convention, despite their positions being affirmed by both party constitution and court judgment.
Oruruo insisted that the convention’s action is void ab initio because it violates both a clear judicial order and the explicit constitutional provisions governing leadership succession in the party.
He insisted the attempted dissolution is null and contemptuous of court, stating: “Whoever purportedly dissolved the Executive Committee of the Enugu PDP is in clear contravention of the law and in contempt of an Order of Court.”
Reasserting his mandate, Oruruo said: “Make no mistake about this; I am both the de facto and de jure State Chairman of Enugu State PDP and no fairytale can distort this fact.” He anchored his claim on constitutional succession, judicial affirmation, and the state congress of August 31, 2024.
He dismissed claims of a newly formed “state committee,” describing it as an illegitimate cluster attempting to destabilize the PDP in Enugu. Such actions, he warned, reflect a pattern of impunity and represent a “colossal national liability.”
He described the group as: “a gathering of questionable elements…pegged against all known principles, entrenched values and vision of the Peoples Democratic Party.”
Responding to questions, Oruruo said he approached the court to protect his mandate following attempts to take over the party’s leadership structure. He maintained that he leads a unified and legitimate PDP, not a faction, and rejected allegations of being a government stooge, citing his years of service and sacrifice in the party. He urged security agencies to prevent any degeneration into violence.
Issuing a warning, he said anyone parading themselves as chairman or secretary of the Enugu PDP is acting in contempt of Suit No. E/1267/2025 and will face appropriate consequences. He asked party members to stay alert and insisted that the court-backed leadership must be respected to avert further internal sabotage.
Recall that at the national convention of the PDP held in Ibadan on November 15, 2025, the party dissolved all party structures in Imo, Abia, Enugu, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States.