The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in an appeal filed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu seeking to overturn his removal as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A five-member panel of justices, led by Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, adjourned the matter on Monday in Abuja after hearing arguments from Anyanwu’s counsel, Kingsley Njemanze, SAN, and Paul Erokoro, SAN, representing Aniagu Emmanuel. Justice Muhammad stated that the court would communicate the judgment date to the parties in due course.
Anyanwu was removed from office following his resignation to contest the 2023 Imo governorship election, which he lost. He subsequently challenged the PDP leadership’s decision to bar him from resuming his role as National Secretary.
During Monday’s proceedings, Anyanwu urged the Supreme Court to set aside the judgments of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal in Enugu, which upheld his removal. He argued that since he had lost the governorship race, he should be reinstated to his former position.
However, opposing counsel Paul Erokoro contended that Anyanwu’s request violated the PDP constitution. He maintained that since Anyanwu had resigned to contest another election, he could not reclaim the office.
Meanwhile, the PDP and its acting National Chairman, Illiya Damagun—listed as the 2nd and 3rd respondents—did not file any submissions in the case. However, the 4th respondent, PDP’s National Vice Chairman (South-East), Ali Odefa, objected to Anyanwu’s reinstatement. Represented by lawyer Okwudili Anozie, Odefa urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the suit as frivolous and lacking merit.
During the hearing, Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim questioned whether the Supreme Court had jurisdiction over PDP leadership disputes. In response, Erokoro pointed to a similar case involving former PDP National Chairman Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, where the Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction and ruled against Sheriff.
Earlier in the proceedings, the Supreme Court dismissed Anyanwu’s request to stay the execution of the lower courts’ rulings that removed him from office. The apex court rejected the request after Anyanwu’s lawyer withdrew it.
The legal battle dates back to December 2024, when the Court of Appeal in Enugu upheld a High Court ruling that sacked Anyanwu and declared Chief Sunday Ude-Okoye as the PDP’s substantive National Secretary. The appellate court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Ridwan Abdullahi, ruled that Anyanwu’s appeal was incompetent and without merit. It held that he had forfeited his position by contesting and securing the PDP’s governorship ticket.
Following this decision, Anyanwu approached the Supreme Court in February, seeking to overturn the lower court rulings and reclaim his position as the PDP’s National Secretary. The Supreme Court will now determine the final outcome of the case.
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