Senator Samuel Anyanwu has officially resumed office as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the party’s national secretariat, Wadata Plaza, following the Supreme Court’s verdict on the leadership tussle.
Expressing gratitude to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, Anyanwu acknowledged the minister’s support during his legal battles.
His return to office follows a prolonged dispute over the position, which had also been claimed by Sunday Udeh-Okoye, a former National Youth Leader of the party.
While an earlier Appeal Court ruling had favored Udeh-Okoye, Anyanwu remained resolute in asserting his entitlement to the office.
The PDP had experienced internal divisions over the matter, with the National Working Committee (NWC) and the party’s governors backing Udeh-Okoye as the rightful National Secretary.
Calling for unity, Anyanwu urged all party stakeholders to set aside differences and support him in strengthening the PDP.
Meanwhile, in response to the ruling, PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, released a statement affirming that the Supreme Court judgment validated Udeh-Okoye’s position as the party’s National Secretary.
“Today’s judgment of the Supreme Court reaffirms the standing position of the Party and emphatically settles the emergence of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye as the substantiative National Secretary of the PDP having been duly nominated, endorsed and ratified through the internal mechanism of the PDP statutory Organs and bodies in line with provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017),” Ologunagba stated.
Providing background on the decision, he explained that the NWC, at its 576th meeting on October 11, 2023, directed the South East Zonal Executive Committee to select a replacement for Anyanwu following his emergence as the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate in the November 2023 Imo State election.
“Consequent upon the directive of the NWC, the South East Zonal Executive Committee at its meeting held on the 20th of October 2023 passed a resolution approving the emergence and forwarding of the name of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye to the NWC as the National Secretary of the Party.
“Accordingly, the NWC at its 577th meeting held on 7th of November 2023 pursuant to its powers under the PDP Constitution, duly received, deliberated upon, accepted and approved the emergence of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye as the National Secretary of the Party, which appointment has also since been endorsed by relevant Organs and bodies of the PDP including the Board of Trustees (BoT), South East Zonal Caucus, the PDP Governors’ Forum and officially communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the general public,” he added.
