The Supreme Court has overturned the decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which had sacked Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
A five-member panel of the apex court ruled that the matter of who occupies the position of PDP National Secretary is an internal affair of the party and, therefore, beyond judicial intervention.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Jamilu Tukur struck out the October 2024 trial court ruling and nullified the majority judgment of the appellate court, which had in December upheld Anyanwu’s removal.
Justice Tukur instead affirmed the minority judgment delivered by Justice Ekanem, who had earlier invalidated the trial court’s decision due to a lack of jurisdiction.
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The apex court further held that the plaintiff, Aniagu Emmanuel, lacked the legal standing to institute the suit as he failed to demonstrate how the issue affected him personally.
This judgment comes amid internal party disputes, with the PDP National Working Committee, Board of Trustees, Governors’ Forum, and South East Zonal Executive Committee having endorsed Udeh-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary.
Meanwhile, Anyanwu’s troubles with the party are far from over. Last month, the Tom Ikimi-led disciplinary committee recommended his expulsion from the PDP after he failed to respond to allegations by the PDP Young Generation caucus.
The caucus accused him of anti-party activities and conduct likely to disrupt the smooth operations of the party, in violation of Articles 58 (1)(f) and 58 (1)(h) of the PDP Constitution.
