The National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Samuel Anyanwu, has brought forth serious allegations of signature forgery concerning the party’s notification letter submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This letter was intended to inform INEC about the upcoming National Convention, slated to be held next month in Ibadan, Oyo State. Anyanwu formally presented these allegations in petitions addressed to the Department of State Services (DSS), the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and INEC itself. These petitions were dated October 15 and subsequently submitted to the respective authorities on October 16.

Attempts to obtain a comment from the PDP spokesman, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls. However, an unnamed party source informed LEADERSHIP that the PDP plans to formally address the claims made by its national secretary on the following Monday. This source suggested that the allegations were primarily aimed at disrupting the convention, stating, “I guess the world can see that the essence of these allegations is to stop the convention, but we are unfazed.”

A separate party source vehemently denied Anyanwu’s claim, asserting that the national secretary had indeed co-signed the PDP letter along with the national chairman, Illiya Damagum, to INEC. This source recalled that during the 102nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, which Anyanwu attended, Bauchi State governor Bala Mohammed publicly announced that “all communication to INEC has been signed by our National Working Committee.” The source further emphasized that this statement was made in the presence of various party leaders and INEC observers, and Anyanwu, who was present, did not raise any objection, thereby allowing the announcement to stand.

Despite these counterarguments, Senator Anyanwu maintained in his petitions that he did not sign the letter, specifically referencing an August 29 letter (or August 25, 2025, as per petition excerpts) to INEC regarding the planned November 15–16 National Convention in Ibadan. In his petition to the Acting Chairman of INEC, titled “RE: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Year 2025 Elective National Convention: Petition Against Forgery and Cloning of My Signature,” Anyanwu explicitly denied the authorship of the letter, asserting that it was “neither signed, approved, nor issued by me.” He expressed shock at finding a “forged/cloned version of my signature on the letter” and requested an investigation into this “criminal conduct by officers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and their collaborators within INEC” with a view to prosecuting the culprits. The letter in question was identified with Ref. No. PDP/DOM/GF.2/Vol. 1M/25-140 dated Monday, August 25, 2025.

Similar sentiments and requests for investigation and prosecution were echoed in his separate letters. To the DSS Director-General, in a petition also titled “Petition Against Forgery and Cloning of My Signature,” Anyanwu reiterated his denial of signing, authorizing, or knowing about the official letter dated August 25, 2025, with Ref. No. PDP/DOM/GF.2/Vol. 1M/25-140. He described the presence of his forged/cloned signature as “shocking” and called for an investigation into the “criminal conduct by officers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and their collaborators within INEC.” In a related appeal to the Inspector General of Police, Anyanwu similarly called for a thorough investigation and the prosecution of those responsible for the alleged forgery, using identical language to describe the shocking discovery of a forged/cloned signature on the referenced August 25, 2025, letter.