PDP Crisis: INEC Urges Court to Refrain from Intervening in Anyanwu’s Case
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called on the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court to refrain from adjudicating the suit filed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu, challenging his removal as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In a counter-affidavit filed on Thursday, INEC argued that it would be in the interest of justice for all parties to await the outcome of an appeal already pending before the Supreme Court.
The electoral body, through a 10-paragraph affidavit deposed by Mohammed Ayuba, emphasized that its regulations, guidelines, and manuals require all correspondence between INEC and political parties to be signed by both the National Chairman and National Secretary of the respective parties. INEC stated that it had deliberately refrained from commenting on Anyanwu’s legal action, noting, “The 1st defendant did not intend to join issues with the plaintiff, pending the determination of the appeal at the Supreme Court.”
INEC further argued that the court’s jurisdiction is ousted in matters dealing with the internal affairs of political parties. During the resumed proceedings, INEC’s counsel, Mr. Ahmed Mohammed, drew the court’s attention to the counter-affidavit filed on March 7. Other defendants in the case also indicated that they had filed preliminary objections challenging the competence of the suit.
Background of the Dispute
Chief Udeh-Okoye Enemchukwu, who has been endorsed by the PDP as Senator Anyanwu’s replacement, informed the court that all parties had submitted their briefs of argument before the Supreme Court. He maintained that Senator Anyanwu had ceased to be the National Secretary of the PDP following concurrent judgments by the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Enugu.
Udeh-Okoye, the 4th defendant, explained that while Senator Anyanwu was elected as National Secretary during the PDP’s National Convention on October 30, 2021, for a four-year term, he lost the position after being nominated as the party’s candidate for the Imo State governorship election in 2023. He cited Article 47(5) of the PDP Constitution, which requires any officer elected into the party’s Executive Committee to resign before running for elective office, and Article 47(6), which provides for the appointment of a replacement from the same zone to complete the term.
Udeh-Okoye stated that following Anyanwu’s refusal to vacate the office, the PDP Board of Trustees, in a letter dated October 12, 2023, alerted the National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagun, to the constitutional breach. He added that the South East zone executives of the PDP, during a meeting in Enugu on October 16, 2022, nominated him to complete Anyanwu’s tenure.
Legal Proceedings and Supreme Court Appeal
Udeh-Okoye affirmed that the litigation leading to the concurrent judgments in Enugu stemmed from his nomination and that the Supreme Court is already seized of the matter. “I am aware that subject to the unlikely event that the plaintiff’s appeal at the Supreme Court is allowed, I remain the authentic and substantive National Secretary of the PDP,” he stated in his affidavit, filed through his legal team led by Mr. Paul Erokoro, SAN.
Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the case until March 25 to hear all preliminary objections alongside the substantive suit. Senator Anyanwu had approached the court seeking to stay the execution of the judgments that removed him from office.
It will be recalled that the Court of Appeal in Enugu, in a judgment delivered last December, upheld a High Court ruling that sacked Senator Anyanwu and recognized Udeh-Okoye as the National Secretary. The court held that Anyanwu’s continued stay in office violated the PDP Constitution, as he had contested and emerged as the party’s governorship candidate in Imo State.
Dissatisfied with the verdicts, Anyanwu lodged an appeal, which has been reserved for judgment by the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the PDP’s Board of Trustees and National Working Committee have endorsed Udeh-Okoye as the National Secretary, a decision Anyanwu has rejected, insisting that the matter remains subject to ongoing litigation.
