The Supreme Court has nullified the judgements of both the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court that removed Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
A five-member panel of the apex court ruled that the issue regarding the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) National Secretary falls under the internal affairs of the party and is therefore not justiciable.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Jamilu Tukur struck out the trial court’s October 2024 ruling and overturned the majority decision of the Court of Appeal, which had upheld Anyanwu’s removal in December. Instead, the Supreme Court affirmed the minority judgement by Justice Ekanem, which nullified the trial court’s ruling on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction.
Furthermore, the apex court determined that the plaintiff, Aniagu Emmanuel, lacked the legal standing to challenge Anyanwu’s position since he failed to demonstrate how he was directly affected by the matter.
The PDP’s National Working Committee, Board of Trustees, PDP Governors’ Forum, and South East Zonal Executive Committee had all previously recognized Udeh-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary.
Meanwhile, the Tom Ikimi-led PDP disciplinary committee recently recommended Anyanwu’s expulsion, citing his failure to appear before the committee in response to allegations by the PDP Young Generation caucus. The petition accused Anyanwu of anti-party activities and actions that could disrupt the party’s lawful and efficient operations, in violation of Article 58 (1)(f) and (h) of the PDP Constitution 2017.
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