An Enugu High Court has restrained Mr. Samuel Anyanwu from being paraded as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), warning that he could be jailed if he fails to comply.
The judgment, handed down by Justice Ajah CO, was filed by Mr. Emmanuel Aniagu against the PDP, Acting National Chairman, Mr. Elijah Umar Damagun, Senator Anyanwu and PDP National South East Deputy Chairman, Mr. Ali Odefa. issued in response to the lawsuit.
Naija News reported that the court declared that Mr. Anyanwu’s actions were inconsistent with the constitution and regulations of the PDP and highlighted the conflict of interest in his concurrent position as national secretary and governorship candidate for the Imo state election.
Justice Ajah ruled that Mr. Anyanwu’s actions, including running the party as the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 elections, had effectively relinquished his position as national secretary.
“The third defendant (Anyangwu) has abandoned his post by his own conduct and is hereby restrained from further presenting himself as the national secretary of the first defendant (PDP),” the court ruled.
The court also ordered PDP acting national chairman Damagun to commend Prime Minister Johnson. He appointed SKE Ude Okoye as Acting Secretary of State, noting that the South East Zone Executive Committee had recommended Okoye to serve the remainder of the term for which Anyanwu was elected in 2021.
The court highlighted Anyangwu’s important role as national secretary, which included drafting and approving the federation-wide governor review committee, appeals committee, and election committee.
It was pointed out that the fact that he continued to hold the office even though he was a candidate for governor created a conflict of interest.
“By holding both positions, the third defendant became a judge for his own purposes,” Judge Aja said.
“If you (Anyangwu) fail to comply with the instructions contained in this order, you may be found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to imprisonment,” the court said in a stern warning.
