The Chairman of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in Anambra State, David Chukwudifu, speaks with YUSUF OKETOLA about the reported rift between the party’s existing structure and supporters of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
What exactly is the nature of the disagreement between you and Peter Obi?
I would not call it a disagreement. I would rather describe it as ill-treatment of me and the state executives of the party because Peter Obi and I have never sat down to discuss anything.
Since he joined the party, he has not met with any of the South-East chairmen, particularly me, the state chairman. He has been avoiding me.
Peter Obi joined the party on May 3, 2026, while I held our state congress on May 4. We then attended the National Convention in Abuja on May 9.
After the convention, I stayed back in Abuja and, throughout that period, my state working committee and I made several attempts to reach him, but we could not speak with him.
We sent him WhatsApp messages, some of which I still have as evidence. We also called him, but none of the calls were returned.
I eventually returned to Anambra and waited for him to give me a direction or an appointment so we could meet, but that did not happen.
Instead, we saw another group of people selling nomination forms. One of them was Chris McCool Nwosu, who is from Anambra South.
The information available to me was that they migrated with Peter Obi from the ADC to the NDC. They sold forms, conducted screening, and later held a primary without involving us.
Before that primary, another name emerged, Ikem Uzoezie, a former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly under APGA. He called a meeting of aspirants in Awka.
They have effectively taken over the party and have been carrying out activities without involving the state, local government, and ward structures. We have been left on the sidelines.
We inaugurated our own office because they did not have one. They had been operating from hotels. In fact, people from Labour and APGA are the ones running the affairs of the party, as far as I can see.
When did the problem begin, and what triggered the tension?
I only know Peter Obi as a former governor of Anambra State. I have never met him personally.
After I emerged as state chairman, I granted an interview in which I referred to one of his well-known statements about wanting a Nigeria where the son of nobody could become somebody without knowing anybody.
I said I could testify to that philosophy because I had also risen from nobody to somebody. I was speaking about his philosophy and ideology, not claiming to have a personal relationship with him.
I do not know Peter Obi personally, and he does not know me. I only know him as the former governor whose administration I witnessed.
What has led to our being sidelined, in my view, is the style of operation of Obi and his associates. I believe they did something similar in the PDP, Labour Party and ADC, and have now brought the same approach into the NDC.
