The Supreme Court has overturned the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court that removed Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party.
A five-member panel of the apex court ruled that the matter of who holds the position of National Secretary in a political party is an internal issue and cannot be decided by the court.
Justice Jamilu Tukur, who delivered the lead judgment, declared that the trial court’s ruling in October 2024 was invalid and also set aside the Court of Appeal’s decision from December that upheld Anyanwu’s removal.
The Supreme Court instead supported the minority judgment of the appellate court delivered by Justice Ekanem, which stated that the trial court had no jurisdiction to rule on the matter.
Furthermore, the apex court ruled that the plaintiff, Aniagu Emmanuel, had no legal right to bring the case to court as he failed to prove how he was directly affected by the position of the PDP National Secretary.
Meanwhile, the PDP’s National Working Committee, Board of Trustees, Governors’ Forum, and South East Zonal Executive Committee had at different times endorsed Udeh-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary.
Last week, the PDP disciplinary committee led by Tom Ikimi recommended Anyanwu’s expulsion from the party, citing his alleged involvement in anti-party activities. The committee stated that he refused to appear before them to defend himself against a petition filed by the PDP Young Generation caucus.
The petitioner accused Anyanwu of violating Article 58 (1)(f) of the PDP Constitution by engaging in actions that went against the party’s interests.
