Court declares Anyanwu as PDP national secretary.

Court declares Anyanwu as PDP national secretary.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the legitimate National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The court also in a judgment delivered on Tuesday restrained the national leadership of the PDP from appointing any person as acting National Secretary, adding that in line with the party’s constitution, Anyanwu’s four-year tenure ends December 9, 2025.

But the PDP rejected the judgment, saying it would be appealed.

Reacting, the PDP National Vice Chairman (South-East), Ali Odefa, told The PUNCH: “Certainly, we will appeal that judgment. There was an earlier judgment from Enugu declaring Udeh-Okoye as the secretary. We will appeal it.”

After Anyanwu became the PDP’s governorship candidate for the November 11 election in Imo State, demands for his resignation intensified.

On October 20, the South-East zonal executive committee of the PDP nominated Sunday Udeh-Okoye to replace Anyanwu as the party’s National Secretary.

However, the National Working Committee of the party on November 14, 2023, ordered Anyanwu to step aside and directed the deputy national secretary, Setonji Koshoedo, to take over.

Two members of the party, Geoffrey Ihentuge and Apollo’s Godspower, filed an ex-parte motion stopping the defendants from removing Anyanwu as National Secretary.

In the suit, the PDP; its acting National Chairman, Umar Damagun; its National Executive Committee; the National Working Committee of the party, and the Independent National Electoral Commission were joined as the first to fifth defendants, respectively.

The presiding judge, Inyang Ekwo, had on November 23 stopped the PDP from removing Anyanwu as National Secretary pending the hearing and determination of the substantive matter.

Delivering judgment on the matter on Tuesday, Justice Ekwo also declared that any meeting held, or resolution reached, by the party to prematurely remove or prevent Anyanwu from exercising the powers of his office would be in violation of Article 47 (1) of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017).

“The plaintiffs have been able to demonstrate, with credible evidence, the threat and move by the PDP leadership to remove its national secretary without due compliance with the provisions of the party’s constitution.

“The court is duty-bound to prevent that from happening. The plaintiffs do not have to wait until the 1st-4th defendants carry out their threat before coming to seek redress. In such a situation, the court is bound to grant the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs,” he held.

The judge also restrained INEC from recognising any purported appointment of any person as national secretary of the party, whether in an acting capacity or otherwise, except Anyanwu