Legal Battle Ends: Supreme Court Confirms Samuel Anyanwu As PDP National Secretary

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Senator Samuel Anyanwu, declaring him the rightful National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In its landmark judgment on Friday, the apex court overturned the earlier ruling by the Court of Appeal in Enugu, which had ruled against Anyanwu’s bid to retain his position.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Jamilu Tukur stated that the matter falls strictly within the internal affairs of the PDP. The Supreme Court concurred with Anyanwu’s legal team, asserting that both the Court of Appeal and the trial court in Enugu lacked jurisdiction over the case.

As a result, the Supreme Court nullified the lower court’s ruling from October last year and set aside the Court of Appeal’s majority decision, which had upheld Anyanwu’s removal in December. Instead, it affirmed the minority judgment by Justice Ekanem, which dismissed the trial court’s verdict due to lack of jurisdiction.

Furthermore, the apex court held that the plaintiff, Aniagu Emmanuel, lacked the legal standing to challenge Anyanwu’s position, as he failed to demonstrate how the appointment of the PDP’s National Secretary personally affected him.

Notably, the Supreme Court’s five-member panel, led by Justice Uwani Musa Abba-Aji, had previously reserved judgment in Anyanwu’s appeal against the Court of Appeal ruling, which had recognized Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the rightful PDP National Secretary.

The lower courts had ruled that Anyanwu’s candidacy in the 2024 Imo State governorship election constituted an effective resignation from his PDP Secretary position. However, Anyanwu contended that the PDP constitution guarantees a four-year term for party officers and argued that the courts misapplied Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates resignation before contesting an election.