The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in the appeal filed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu regarding his attempt to regain the position of National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Justice Musa Awani Aba-Aji, who led the five-member panel, announced that the date for the judgment would be communicated to all parties in due course.
The PDP Board of Trustees and the Governors’ Forum had backed his removal from office and backed Sunday Ude Okoye as the authentic National Secretary.
Anyanwu has marched on, insisting that he remains the National Secretary of the party
He subsequently sued the PDP leadership, arguing that he should be allowed to return to his former position as National Secretary, given that his gubernatorial ambition did not materialize.
At the court proceedings, Anyanwu’s counsel, Ken Njemanze, SAN, urged the Supreme Court to nullify the decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal in Enugu, which had both ruled against him.
Representing Aniagu Emmanuel, Paul Erokoro, SAN, countered Anyanwu’s arguments, asserting that his return to the office would violate the PDP constitution.
Erokoro emphasized that the resignation to contest the governorship election disqualified Anyanwu from reclaiming his former position.
Meanwhile, PDP’s acting national chairman, Illiya Damagun, and the party itself refrained from filing responses, while the party’s national vice chairman for the South-East, Ali Odefa, opposed Anyanwu’s appeal, describing it as baseless and without merit.
The Supreme Court also addressed questions about its jurisdiction over PDP leadership disputes.
Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim inquired about the court’s authority, referencing inconsistencies in prior rulings. Erokoro cited the case of former PDP chairman Senator Alimodu Sheriff, where the Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction and delivered a decisive judgment. This, he argued, set a precedent for the current matter.
Earlier, Anyanwu had sought to stay the execution of the judgments that removed him from office. However, in a surprising turn, he withdrew his request, prompting the court to dismiss it.
Last December, the Court of Appeal in Enugu upheld a Federal High Court judgment recognized Chief Sunday Ude-Okoye as the legitimate National Secretary of the PDP.
Justice Ridwan Abdullahi, who delivered the appellate court’s lead judgment, declared Anyanwu’s appeal incompetent and without merit, citing his violation of the PDP constitution by attempting to reclaim his position after contesting in the governorship election.
In February, Anyanwu took the matter to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the concurrent judgments of the lower courts.
