By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
If care is not taken, the ongoing proxy war within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the needless war against the party’s authentic National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu may wreck possibilities of proper preparations for the 2027 general elections, a PDP pressure group, the PDP Frontliners has warned.
According to the group, PDP elements planning to leave the party for a coalition platform are deliberately misinforming the public about the Supreme Court verdict that effectively reinstated Senator Samuel Anyanwu as PDP National Secretary so as to continue a needless fight and further destabilize PDP before they take their exit.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, Alhaji Hussein Mohammed (President), Mr. Moses Abidemi (Secretary) and Mr. Dan Okafor (Publicity Secretary), emphasized the PDP Frontliners’ clear understanding of last Friday’s Supreme Court judgement as an explicit invalidation of two lower court judgements being used as excuse to prop up Hon Sunday Udeh-Okoye as a claimant to Senator Anyanwu’s position.
According to the PDP Frontliners, *”
“What Supreme Court said last Friday was that the two lower court judgements are invalidated; those two judgements were the basis for justifying a meeting of 25 South East PDP stakeholders who propped up Udeh-Okoye in effort to try replace Senator Anyanwu who was elected at a national convention of the PDP almost four years ago.
“The entrenched forces’ determination to continue fighting Senator Anyanwu is well reflected in ongoing efforts to mislead the public by saying that the core decision of the Supreme Court last Friday was merely that political parties should determine their leadership.
“Two, besides, Senator Anyanwu was not ‘the only member of PDP National Working Committee who temporarily sought leave to go and contest in their states and seamlessly returned to their position at PDP National secretariat:
“it has happened before and it is not against our constitution but the proxy war against Anyanwu has blinded them,” the group asserted.
According to the PDP Frontliners, those who want to leave for their coalition elsewhere should proceed rather than cause a prolonged and needless challenge against Senator Anyanwu who had never left PDP for any other political party since 1999.
The Supreme Court judgment in Appeal No: SC/CV/18/2025: Senator Samuel Anyanwu v. Aniagu Emmanuel unanimously set aside the majority decision of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the dissenting judgment of Hon. Justice Ekanem, JCA; the Supreme Court also struck out the suit filed by Aniagu Emmanuel at the Enugu State High Court for want of jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court held that the issue for determination in the matter filed by Aniagu Emmanuel at the Enugu State High Court touch and concern leadership position in the Peoples Democratic Party i.e. the position of National Secretary of the said political party and therefore, that the issue of leadership being an internal affair of the PDP, the Enugu State High Court and the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the said suit.
The group added, “The highest Court of the land also decided that the 1st Respondent/Plaintiff (Aniagu Emmanuel) lacked the locus standi to institute the action at the Enugu State High Court, and was a busybody and meddlesome interloper.
“Recall that Aniagu Emmanuel had instituted an action at the Enugu State High Court against the Appellant (Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the PDP & others) challenging the continued occupation of the office of National Secretary by Senator Anyanwu and contending that one S.K Udeh-Okoye having been recommended by the South-East Zonal Executive Committee should be recognized as the National Secretary of the PDP.
“The Enugu State High Court and majority of the Court of Appeal found in favour of Aniagu Emmanuel but these decisions of the Enugu State High Court and the Court of Appeal majority were set aside by the Supreme Court and in Law those decisions are no longer valid and subsisting.
“What is valid and subsisting now is the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered in favour of Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
“By the decision of the Supreme Court which all persons and authorities are bound to comply with by virtue of the provisions of Section 287 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Senator Samuel Anyanwu remains the legitimate secretary of the PDP,” they asserted.
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