March 24, (THEWILL) – The Supreme Court’s judgement on Friday, March 21, that the issue of party leadership positions, including that of the National Secretary of the PDP, is entirely an internal affair of the political parties, in which the courts have no jurisdiction, has become a subject of interpretation in the party.
The court declared the position while ruling in an appeal brought before it by Senator Samuel Anyanwu to challenge the concurrent judgements of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, which declared Sunday Ude-Okoye as National Secretary of the PDP.
THEWILL recalls that Anyanwu was National Secretary of the party before he contested for the 2024 governorship election in Imo State. He was subsequently replaced by Ude-Okoye to fill the vacancy from the South-East geo-political zone.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Jamilu Tukur ruled that the courts lacked jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of a political party. He further held that the plaintiff, Aniagu Emmanuel, who initiated the suit that led to Anyanwu’s removal, lacked the locus standi to file the case.
In an enquiry by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim to know whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in the leadership of the PDP, Anyanwu’s counsel, Erokoro said, the Court had not been consistent in its decisions on such matters and drew the attention of the Court to the matter of a former National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Alimodu Sheriff, on the same leadership dispute where he said, the Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction and delivered judgment that settled the matter against Sheriff.
Following a December 20, 2024, judgment by the Court of Appeal in Enugu, the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) had, on February 12, recognised Ude-Okoye as the party’s substantive National Secretary.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Ridwan Abdullahi, the Court of Appeal held that Anyanwu‘s appeal was incompetent and lacking in merit.
According to the appellate court, the appellant violated the PDP’s constitution by laying claim to the National Secretary position having contested and emerged as the PDP candidate in the 2024 governorship election in Imo State.
Dissatisfied, Anyanwu last month approached the apex court to set aside the judgment of the two lower courts and recognize him as the authentic National Secretary of the PDP.
Anyanwu had urged the Supreme Court to void and set aside the concurrent judgments of the Federal High Court and that of the Court of appeal in Enugu which removed him as PDP National Secretary.
He insisted that, having lost his governorship ambition in the Imo state governorship election in 2023, he should be allowed to stage a comeback to retain the same office he resigned from.
The apex court’s ruling brings an end to the prolonged leadership dispute between Anyanwu and Ude-Okoye, both of whom had laid claim to the position of PDP National Secretary.
Both parties in the dispute are however interpreting the judgement differently.
Anyanwu, on his part, claims that the judgement was in his favour as it annulled the previous judgements by the lower and appellate courts. He said, by this final judgement, he remains the party’s scribe until November when the party holds a National Convention to elect new officials of the NCW. The NCW has said he is wrong and no longer its scribe.
Commending the Supreme Court for its judgement on the legal tussle over the position of National Secretary of the party, the NCW maintained that the court has affirmed the supremacy of the party in handling its internal affairs.
Reaffirming Ude-Okoye as the authentic national Secretary of the PDP, the party, in a statement signed on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said, “Today’s judgement of the Supreme Court reaffirms the standing position of the Party and emphatically settles the emergence of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye as the substantive National Secretary of the PDP having been duly nominated, endorsed and ratified through the internal mechanism of the PDP statutory Organs and bodies in line with provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017)”.
The NWC explained that “at its 576th meeting held on the 11th of October, 2023, directed the South East Zonal Executive Committee to nominate a replacement for Senator Samuel Anyanwu upon Senator Anyanwu’s nomination as the governorship candidate of the PDP to contest the November 2023 Governorship election in Imo State.
“Consequent upon the directive of the NWC, the South East Zonal Executive Committee at its meeting held on the 20th of October 2023 passed a resolution approving the emergence and forwarding of the name of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye to the NWC as the National Secretary of the Party.
“Accordingly, the NWC at its 577th meeting held on 7th of November 2023 pursuant to its powers under the PDP Constitution, duly received, deliberated upon, accepted and approved the emergence of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye as the National Secretary of the Party, which appointment has also since been endorsed by relevant Organs and bodies of the PDP including the Board of Trustees (BoT), South East Zonal Caucus, the PDP Governors’ Forum and officially communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the general public.”
The NWC commended the Supreme Court for upholding the principle of the supremacy of the Party in the management of its internal affairs, describing it as victory for democracy.
It urged all patriotic members of the PDP to remain united as “we work together to move our great Party forward.”
Immediate past spokesperson of the party, Mr Kola Ologbodinyan, in his reaction on Friday, aligned with the decision of the NCW. According to him, all the organs of the party from the NCW to its Board of Trustees, BoT and its Governors Forum, have agreed that Okoye is the National Secretary of the party and so shall it be.
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