On Friday, the Supreme Court declared that no court possessed the authority to determine who would become an officer in a political party.
Consequently, the court overturned the rulings of both the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court that had removed Senator Samuel Anyanwu from his position as the National Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Additionally, the court dismissed Anyanwu’s request for him to be recognized officially as the party’s National Secretary.
An ensemble of five judges from the highest court delivered a collective ruling stating that the matter concerning who holds the position of National Secretary of the PDP falls under the internal matters of a political party and thus cannot be adjudicated upon.
Justice Jamilu Tukur, who wrote the main verdict for the Supreme Court, subsequently annulled the ruling made by the lower court in October 2024. He also overturned the primary decision of the Court of Appeal from December, which had previously upheld the removal of Anyanwu as the national secretary of the PDP.
Justice Tukur later upheld the dissenting opinion from the appellate court, authored by Justice Ekanem, that invalidated the decision of the lower court due to its lack of jurisdiction.
Moreover, the supreme court ruled that the plaintiff, Aniagu Emmanuel, who initiated the case in the lower court, did not have the required legal standing. This is because he failed to demonstrate how his interests were impacted by whoever holds the position of National Secretary of the PDP.
Supreme Court ruling confirms Okoye as National Secretary of PDP — Related News Supreme Court’s take on party switching matches constitutional requirements, says Dagogo — Also reported Supreme Court appoints new substantive Chief Registrar — Additional informationOn March 10, the supreme court reserved its verdict in this case following the presentations made by Anyanwu’s attorney, Kingsley Njemanze, SAN, and Chief Paul Erokoro, SAN, representing Aniagu Emmanuel.
Anyanwu, who was dismissed after resigning to run in the previous Imo State gubernatorial election that he lost, has filed a lawsuit against the PDP leadership. He claims they prevented him from remaining in his position as the PDP National Secretary following his failed bid for governorship.
Anyanwu had requested the Supreme Court to annul and overturn the simultaneous rulings made by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal in Enugu, which led to his removal as PDP National Secretary.
He maintained that after failing to achieve his goal of becoming the governor in the Imo State gubernatorial election of 2023, he ought to be permitted to make a return and reclaim the position he previously held.
Chief Paul Erokoro,SAN, who stood in for Aniagu Emmanuel, argued before the highest court that Anyanwu’s request contradicted the PDP’s constitution. He further stated that since the individual had stepped down from their role as National Secretary to run in another election, they should not be permitted to reclaim their former position.
The second and third respondents in the appeal, PDP and Ambassador Iliya Damagun, did not submit any documentation either supporting or opposing Anyanwu’s case. However, the fourth respondent, Ali Odeifa, contested Anyanwu’s attempt to reclaim the position of National Secretary of the PDP.
Odeifa, via his legal representative, Okwudili Anozie, asked the highest court to reject Anyanwu’s lawsuit, claiming it was without merit, unfounded, and trivial.
During Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim’s inquiry into whether the Supreme Court has authority over the leadership of the PDP, Erokoro pointed out that the court had shown inconsistency in handling similar cases. He highlighted another instance involving a previous national chairman of the PDP, Senator Alimodu Sheriff, regarding a comparable internal conflict; in this case, the Supreme Court took up the issue and ruled decisively against Sheriff.
As previously noted, both the Federal High Court and the Enugu-based Court of Appeal issued concurrent rulings that led to the removal of Anyanwu from his position as PDP National Secretary.
Last December, the appellate court in Enugu endorsed the High Court’s ruling which removed Anyanwu from his position as the National Secretary of the PDP and confirmed Chief Sunday Ude-Okoye as the legitimate National Secretary of the party.
In the principal ruling penned by Justice Ridwan Abdullahi, the Court of Appeal determined that Anyanwu’s appeal lacked both competence and substantive grounds.
The appellate court stated that the appellant breached the PDP’s constitution by pursuing the role of National Secretary after running for and winning the PDP nomination for the gubernatorial race in Imo State in 2024.
Discontented, Anyanwu recently filed an appeal with the Supreme Court last month aiming to overturn the decisions made by the two lower courts and to have himself acknowledged as the legitimate National Secretary of the PDP.
Stay updated with the latest news from Tribune Online in real time! Connect with us on WhatsApp for immediate notifications, special reports, and insightful conversations. Subscribe to our WhatsApp channel today!
Tags: Anyanwu PDP National Secretary Supreme Court Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. ( Syndigate.info ).
0 Comments