Court declares Anyanwu as PDP’s authentic national secretary

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, declared Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the authentic national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The judge, who gave the judgment in a suit filed by two members of the party – Geoffrey Ihentuge and Apollos Godspower – restrained the PDP national leadership from appointing any person as acting national secretary till December 9, 2025, in line with the party’s constitution.

Anyanwu’s four-year tenure will end on that date.

The PDP national leadership had last year moved to remove Anyanwu as national secretary following his emergence as the party’s governorship candidate for the November 11 election in the state.

Ihentuge is the PDP chairman in the Ikeduru local government area in Imo of Imo State and Godspower his counterpart in Owerri Municipal LGA.

The PDP acting National Chairman, Umar Damagun, the National Executive Committee (NEC), the National Working Committee (NWC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were listed as respondents in the suit.

The plaintiffs had in the suit asked the court to restrain the respondents from carrying out the threat to remove the Anyanwu as the party’s national secretary, among other reliefs.

Justice Ekwo also declared that any resolution reached by the party to prematurely remove or prevent Anyanwu from exercising the powers of his office would violate Article 47 (1) of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017), hence, becomes null and void and of no effect.

He also restrained INEC from recognising any purported appointment of any person as PDP national secretary either in an acting capacity or otherwise other than Anyanwu.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now