A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, June 26, 2025, deferred hearing on a suit seeking to validate Senator Samuel Anyanwu’s position as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to September 22.
The Court presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar approved the adjournment shortly after all the defendants, including the PDP, challenged the competence of the suit and the jurisdiction of the court to entertain it.
The court therefore ruled that it would hear all the pending applications on the return date, even as Senator Anyanwu’s lawyer, Mrs. U. C. Njamanze-Aku, said that her client has filed a motion to amend his originating summons.
Defendants in the suit included, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Amb. Umar Damagun, Hon. Udeh-Okoye, Ememchukwu, the National Vice Chairman, PDP South-East, Ali Odela and the Deputy National Secretary of the PDP, Setonji Koshoedo in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025.
Anyanwu had approached the court for the stay of execution of concurrent judgements that removed him from the position and recognised Hon. Udeh-Okoye as the National Secretary of the party.
The Court of Appeal in Enugu had in a judgement delivered in December 2024, upheld a High Court decision that sacked Senator Anyanwu and recognized Hon. Udeh-Okoye as the National Secretary of the PDP.
The court held that Anyanwu’s continued stay in office as National Secretary was in breach of the PDP’s Constitution, having contested and emerged as the party’s Governorship candidate in Imo State in 2024.
The PDP Governors Forum, Board of Trustees (BOT), and the National Working Committee (NWC), of the PDP, acting on the strength of the judgements, endorsed Chief Udeh-Okoye as the National Secretary.
But, dissatisfied with the verdicts, Anyanwu proceeded to the Supreme Court, just as he also approached the High Court with an application that sought to suspend the execution of the judgements against him.
The Supreme Court while deciding on the matter on May 21, 2025, set aside the judgements of the two lower courts for lack of jurisdiction.
The apex court in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel of Justices, held that the dispute the courts resolved, bordered on domestic affairs of a political party which no court has statutory powers to meddle in.
The Supreme Court judgement however, provoked different reactions as both Anyanwu and Hon. Udeh-Okoye’s camps claiming victory.
However, in an affidavit filed in response to Senator Anyanwu’s case, Hon. Udeh-Okoye, who is the 4th defendant, told the court that though the plaintiff was elected at a National Convention of the party held on October 30, 2021, for a four-year tenure, he however, lost the position after he was nominated as candidate of the party for the governorship election that held in Imo State in 2023.
Udeh-Okoye told the court that whereas Article 47(5) of the PDP Constitution requires any officer elected into the party’s Executive Committee at any level, to resign before running for any elective office, Article 47 (6) made provision for the appointment of someone from the same area or zone, to serve out the tenure of such officer.
He further told the court that following Anyanwu’s refusal to vacate the office, the Board of Trustees of the PDP, in a letter dated October 12, 2023, drew the attention of the National Chairman of the party, Ambassador Umar Damagun, to the constitutional breach.
Udeh-Okoye also told the court that the South East zone Executives of the party, at a meeting held in Enugu on October 16, 2022, nominated him to serve out the residue of Anyanwu’s remaining tenure in office.
Udeh-Okoye also said the litigation that led to the concurrent judgements of the courts in Enugu, was as a result of the fallout of the meeting where he was nominated and therefore sought the dismissal of the suit by the court.
Though the previous judge that presided over Anyanwu’s suit, Justice Inyang Ekwo, earlier heard and reserved the case for judgement, however, before the verdict could be delivered, Anyanwu filed another motion to be allowed to amend his reliefs.
Anyanwu therefore urged the court to stop INEC from accepting any other name the party would submit as his replacement for the position of the National Secretary.
