Anyanwu Dares PDP Govs As Appeal Court Judgments Compound Party’s Woes

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may be sinking into a deeper crisis in the days ahead, as the party’s ousted National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, on Saturday, called the bluff of the party’s 13 governors.

The governors, under the aegis of the PDP Governors Forum, on Friday, directed the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to recognise Mr Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the National Secretary.

The governors’ position is in deference to the judgment of the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal, which sacked Anyanwu and declared Ude-Okoye as the substantive National Secretary.

In a curious twist, however, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal countered the Enugu Division and ordered a stay of execution of the Enugu judgment.

It also ordered the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum pending the determination of an appeal purportedly filed by Anyanwu at the Supreme Court.

The interpretation is that Anyanwu should remain the National Secretary pending the determination of his appeal by the apex court.

Armed with the judgment of the Abuja Division of the appellate court, Anyanwu said he would remain the National Secretary until further notice.

However, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, who is a lawyer, has continued to insist that the judgment of the Enugu Division of the appellate court was a declarative one and, as such, cannot be stayed.

But Anyanwu has vowed to defy the directive of the governors, saying that their directive conflicted with the decision of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.

In a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Anyanwu alerted the security agencies to the dangers posed by the directive of the PDP governors.

The petition, dated 1st of February, 2025, stated in part, “It is saddening that the governors, in their expected wisdom, have allowed themselves to be deceived by the sponsors of Ude Okoye, who are already facing criminal investigations by the police against the forged PDP Guidelinesthath they used to mislead the courts in securing the ill-fated judgements.

“Police is therefore being alerted of the grave dangers that will ensue in the attempt of the NWC to implement the quoted advice of the PDP Governors Forum enshrined in paragraph 3 of their communiqué.

“It will be an invitation to chaos and affront to the judiciary and the rule of law, especially when the matter is pending before the superior courts for determination.

“I am by this letter calling on you to take necessary steps to forestall the crises being instigated by the PDP governors and the sponsors of Ude Okoye. The National Working Committee of PDP should be advised to refrain from any action that will be contrary to the position of the court on this matter. It is my right as a lawful citizen to seek justice against a judgment that was fraudulently secured against me.

“In the interest of peace, safety of lives and property of innocent Nigerians, all parties to this case should be cautioned to conduct themselves in line with the rule of law and decision of the Court of Appeal to maintain status quo ante bellum pending the hearing and determination of the motion. Anything contrary to this will be vehemently resisted. I still remain the validly elected National Secretary of PDP until the court rules otherwise.”

The petition was copied to the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the President of the Court of Appeal, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria
(CJN) and the Commandant, Nigerian Civil Defence Corps.

The courts sacked Anyanwu as National Secretary because he left his seat in 2023 to contest the Imo State governorship election as the candidate of the PDP.

While he was away, the Southeast PDP stakeholders replaced him with Udeh-Okoye, who was then the party’s Deputy National Youth Leader.

But Anyanwu came back to reclaim his seat after losing the election, prompting Ude-Okoye to challenge his actions in court.

A Federal High Court in Abuja had ruled in favour of Ude-Okoye, a decision Anyanwu appealed at the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal, which also affirmed the decision of the lower court that sacked him.

Attempts by Udeh-Okoye to assume the position of National Secretary during the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) on Wednesday were vehemently resisted by Anyanwu.

The standoff degenerated into fisticuffs between supporters of the two claimants, leading toa physical assault on Ude-Okoye by persons believed to be Anyanwu’s hirelings.

Worried by the development, the PDP Governors, at an emergency meeting in Asaba, the Delta State capital on Friday, directed the leadership of the party to accord Ude-Okoye recognition as National Secretary.