Beleaguered National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Samuel Anyanwu, has been denied the position of Sunday Ude-Okoye despite a Court of Appeal ruling finding him the rightful holder of the position. maintained its claim to
Anyanwu stated his position during an appearance on the current affairs program “Nigeria Right Now” hosted by Dickson Irogbu.
Double assertion of the role of the Secretary of State
The PDP is mired in a leadership tussle as Anyanwu and Ude Okoye continue to claim the role of national secretary.
On Tuesday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Debo Ologunagba, announced that the party is complying with the judgment of the Court of Appeal which recognized Mr. Ude Okoye as the bona fide national secretary.
According to a report in Naija News, Ologunagba was speaking at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja and said, “PDP is a law-abiding political party and we are committed to fully implementing the orders of the court.” said.
Anyangwu’s rebuttal
However, Anyangwu dismissed the party’s position, claiming that it had taken steps to challenge the appellate court’s decision.
He said: “As we speak today, I am still the national secretary of the PDP.
“The reason is that on December 20, there was a judgment of the Enugu State Court of Appeal affirming the judgment of the Enugu State High Court.
“Before that, there was a Federal High Court decision affirming my position. As you may recall, sometime before the 2023 election, on November 10, 2023 to be exact, the State High Court decision There was a ruling that I should have resigned before running for governor.
“Thereafter, I went to the Federal High Court here in Abuja to state my position that as long as I am customarily elected, my position is sacrosanct until December 9, 2025, when it officially ends. I confirmed.
“Incidentally, those who filed the suit continued the matter in the Court of Appeal. On December 20, the court awarded them compensation of one million naira.
“But on the same 20th we appealed the matter and then applied for a stay of execution. This is normal because the Court of Appeals is not the Supreme Court.” So what does that mean? Or? That means the status quo should be maintained. ”
Mr. Anyanwu noted that despite the leadership crisis rocking the party, there are no factions in the opposition party, adding that Mr. Umar Damagum remains the acting national chairman of the party.
He said, “There are no factions in the PDP. The PDP is led by the acting national chairman, Mr. Umar Damagum.”
