The Federal High Court in Enugu has once again mandated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to officially appoint Hon. Udeh-Okoye as the National Secretary of the party, this time through a judgment on the substantive suit.
In the ruling, the court affirmed that the case was not an abuse of the judicial process. It acknowledged the plaintiff’s legal standing to initiate the case, asserting its justiciability. Notably, it emphasized that only the 3rd defendant, Samuel Anyanwu, was attempting to portray the 1st defendant (PDP) as acting outside the bounds of the law.
Consequently, the court decreed that Senator Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu, the 3rd defendant, could not simultaneously hold the position of National Secretary of PDP and be the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the Imo State governorship election.
This decision was based on constitutional provisions, amendments to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999), PDP’s constitution, and the election guidelines of the party. The court deemed Anyanwu’s dual role as both judge and contestant in the PDP gubernatorial primary tantamount to assuming an imperial position.
That Anyanwu ceased being the National Secretary of PDP the moment he became its gubernatorial flag bearer in Imo State, and that his replacement with Hon. Udeh-Okoye by the PDP South East Zonal Executive Committee was in conformity with the dictates of the PDP constitution.
SaharaReporters had reported how Umar Damagum-led PDP has consistently disobeyed court orders.
The court had on October 20, 2023, ruled and ordered the National Working Committee (NWC) to acknowledge Hon. SKE Udeh-Okoye as the PDP National Secretary, as nominated by the PDP South East Zonal Executive Committee.
On November 7, 2023, the Enugu High Court again reaffirmed its prior order and specified as follows;
The interim order compelling PDP to recognize Hon. SKE Udeh-Okoye as the valid National Secretary remains in force until the hearing of the motion on notice on November 27, 2023, or the determination of the Appeal in the appellate court, whichever occurs first.
The plaintiff is granted permission to serve all court orders and processes on PDP and Senator Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu through their counsels.
The substantive suit has now been heard and the court delivered judgement in favor of the plaintiff.
