The crisis within the National Working Committee of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) shows no signs of easing, with a resolution still nowhere in sight.
The conflict took a dramatic turn on Wednesday, as Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja rejected Sen. Samuel Anyanwu’s plea to stop Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from implementing his removal as National Secretary of the party.
The judge ordered Anyanwu to inform INEC and other defendants to appear in the next court session.
Anyanwu, in an ex-parte application
filed through his counsel, Mr. Ken Njemanze (SAN), requested the court to bar INEC or its agents from accepting or acting on correspondences or submissions from the PDP unless they were signed by him.
He also sought a court order to prevent PDP Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagun, from sending any correspondence, documents, or written submissions to INEC unless they were signed by Anyanwu himself.
After considering his arguments, Justice Ekwo ruled that while a case of urgency had been established, the court would not grant the requested reliefs through an ex-parte application.
The judge said the court would require oral evidence from the defendants before issuing any further orders in the case.
Consequently, Justice Ekwo directed him to serve court processes on INEC and Damagun and ordered both parties to appear in court.
He adjourned the case until February 24, for hearing.
This development comes after an Appeal Court in a separate case in December 2024 upheld a High Court judgment, sacking Anyanwu as PDP National Secretary and affirming Ude Okoye as the new National Secretary.
Dissatisfied with the Appeal Court’s decision, he took his case to the Supreme Court on January, 2024.
He petitioned the court to overturn the judgments of the two lower courts and formally acknowledge him as the legitimate national secretary of the PDP.
Anyanwu also filed a motion for accelerated hearing as well as an abridgment of time on grounds of the crucial role of the office of national secretary.
Delivering ruling in the motion, the Supreme Court granted the relief sought and ordered service of the court processes on the respondent, Mr. Aniagu Emmanuel, who the court said, must file in his reply brief within three days of service.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, scheduled March 10 for the hearing of the case.
Persecondnews recalls that the PDP has been embroiled in internal crisis in recent times, marked by intense power struggles, bitter infighting, and deep-seated divisions that threaten to tear the party asunder.
The fight has led them to lose some of their lawmakers to the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Notable among the recent defections to the APC are Rep. Erhriatake Ibori-Suenu, Rep. Chris Nkwonta, and Sen. Ned Nwoko.
The party also lost key members including one-time Kaduna Sen. Shehu Sani, former Kaduna Gov. Muktar Ramalan-Yero, and Senators Suleiman Hunkuyi and Danjuma Laah to APC.
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