pdp obeys court order appoints acting national secretary

The outcome of the court’s ruling will determine the fate of Sam Anyanwu, the PDP’s suspended national secretary.

A legal issue inside the party has centered around Anyanwu, who ran as the party’s candidate in the Imo State gubernatorial election but was defeated by incumbent Hope Uzodimma.

Sunday Udeh Okoye was overwhelmingly selected as the next National Secretary of the party, according to a statement made by Ali Odefa, the National Vice-Chairman, during a meeting of the Southeast Zonal Executive Committee in November.

A high court in Enugu State then mandated that Umar Damagum, the Acting National Chairman, acknowledge Ude-Okoye as the National Secretary.

But in the midst of all of this, the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) issued an order for Anyanwu to resign due to a contradicting court judgment. The position of acting National Secretary was assigned to Setonji Koshoedo, who had previously served as the Deputy National Secretary.

The PDP ordered members to drop all ongoing intra-party lawsuits, but the case was still pending in court.

Kamaldeen Ajibade, the party’s national legal adviser, attested to the fact that the legal dispute continued against the party’s desires.

High top PDP NWC official who wished to remain anonymous said the party would appeal the court’s decision.

Anyanwu, in the meantime, emphasized his respect for the constitution and stated that he was willing to follow the party’s choice.

Calls and mails to PDP National Vice Chairman (South-East), Ali Odefa, were unanswered at the time of reporting, making it impossible to get a comment.