Supreme Court ends the battle for the seat of the national secretary between Hon.Udeh-Okoye and Senator Anyanwu.
South-East PDP rejoices as Supreme Court upheld Udeh-Okoye as party National Secretary.
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) commended the Supreme Court for reaffirming Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the Party’s National Secretary.
This was made known by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba who stated that the ruling of the Apex court upheld the principle of supremacy of the Party, describing it as victory for democracy.
Also, the South-East PDP equally hailed the judgement of the Supreme Court as party as the South East Zonal Executive Committee has sent their congratulatory message to Hon. Udeh-Okoye.
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Background Story
The tussle for the seat of the National Secretary between Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Hon.SKE Udeh-Okoye started when the former decided to be nominated as the governorship candidate of the PDP in the November 2023 Governorship election in Imo State.
As part of the constitution of the party, any committee member that has decided to join the race of a public position must resign from holding a position in the party leadership.
The South East Zonal Executive Committee then chose Hon. Udeh-Okoye and forwarded to the NWC as requested by the result of the 576th NWC meeting held on the 11th of October, 2023.
Hon. Udeh-Okoye was to replace Senator Anyanwu as duly agreed by the South- East Committee because the latter won the party governorship candidate of his state.
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The NWC at its 577th meeting held on 7th of November 2023, duly received, deliberated upon, accepted and approved the emergence of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye as the National Secretary of the Party. The appointment was also 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.
However, Senator Anyanwu upon loosing the election challenged the decision of the oarty alleging that there was no party constitution that says he must resign before taking up the gubernatorial flag bearer of his state.
With some party members backing his claim, the PDP South-East has been divided since the issue started. After several internal resolutions which ruled against Anyanwu, he took the case to court to regain his seat.
A ruling of the High Court in Enugu upheld Udeh-Okoye as the national secretary of the party but Senator Anyanwu obtained an order from another High Court of Appeal in Abuja which stated that the party should maintain “Status quo ante bellum” . Anyanwu further to the case to Supreme Court to obtain a stay of execution. After series of court deliberations, the Supreme Court which is the highest court of authority in Nigeria has ruled in the favour of Udeh-Okoye upholding the decision of the NWC and reaffirming the decision of the party.
The PDP South-East leadership committee expressing their joy over the decision of the court said, “We are happy that this judgment has finally reestablished party supremacy and the ramifications of this decision is a big win for not just the PDP, but for all the political parties in Nigeria.
“By this decision, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed that, as our people would say, the okara can never be taller than the person that planted it. The party is supreme.”
“This judgment expressly ratifies the South Zonal Executive Committee’s nomination of Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary to serve-out the remaining tenure of Senator Samuel Anyanyu, who had won the party’s nomination as its flag bearer in the Imo 2023 governorship election.
“It equally validates Udeh-Okoye’s ratification by the National Working Committee (NWC) on November 7, 2023 and his endorsement by various organs of the party.
“This is not just a victory for Rt. Hon. Udeh-Okoye as a person, but also for the party as a whole and for the nation’s democracy in general,” the statement said.
