Court refuses Anyanwu’s request to stop removal as PDP scribe
20 February 2025 |
4:02 am
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has denied the request made by the embattled National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Samuel Anyanwu, to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from implementing his removal as Secretary of the party.
Group hails S’Court for rejecting Anyanwu’s stay of execution appeal
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has denied the request made by the embattled National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Samuel Anyanwu, to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from implementing his removal as Secretary of the party.
Instead, the judge instructed Anyanwu to notify INEC and the other defendants in his new lawsuit to appear in court, allowing for their perspectives to be considered.
Also, PDP Frontiers for Change and Progress has hailed the Supreme Court for rejecting Anyanwu’s request for a stay of execution on the December 20, 2024, Appeal Court ruling that removed him as the National Secretary of PDP.
Anyanwu had submitted an ex parte application to the Federal High Court, seeking an order to prohibit INEC or its representatives from accepting or acting upon any correspondence or written submissions from the PDP unless he signs them.
In the application, presented by his counsel, Ken Njemanze (SAN), Anyanwu also requested Justice Ekwo to prevent Umar Damagun from sending any correspondence, documents or written submissions to INEC unless they bear his signature.
After considering the plaintiff’s arguments, Ekwo, in a concise ruling, acknowledged that a case of urgency had been established based on Anyanwu’s claims.
However, the judge declined to grant the plaintiff’s request through an ex parte application, opting instead to hear from the defendants before issuing any orders.
Consequently, he directed Anyanwu to notify INEC and Damagun about the new lawsuit, ensuring that they have the opportunity to appear in Court and present their arguments.
Ekwo, therefore, instructed the plaintiff to serve the necessary court documents to the two defendants and scheduled the case for hearing on February 24, 2025.
THE appellate court’s judgment had upheld the appointment of Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the PDP National Secretary, but Anyanwu’s legal team approached the apex court seeking a stay of execution to prevent Ude-Okoye from taking office.
Ude-Okoye was appointed by South East PDP leaders as Anyanwu’s replacement when the embattled National Secretary sought the party’s flag for the November 11, 2023 Imo State governorship election.
The apex court, on Tuesday, after heated arguments by Anyanwu’s lawyer, refused to grant the request by Anyanwu to stay the judgment that recognised Ude-Okoye as PDP’s authentic National Secretary.
A five-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa okayed accelerated hearing of the case, and adjourned proceedings till March 10, 2025.
The Supreme Court further agreed that the judgment of the appellate court was a declaratory judgment “that cannot be stayed.”
National Coordinator of the pressure group, Emeka Ikpegbu, said the apex court had once again, shown “it cannot endorse judicial rascality and abuse of court processes.”
He argued that Anyanwu “cannot temporarily suspend the execution of the judgment of the Court of Appeal while his appeal is being heard at the Supreme Court.”
Ikpegbu further said the decision of the apex court vindicated the Sen Adolphus Wabara-led PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) and PDP governors, who had earlier advised the National Working Committee (NWC) to swear in Ude-Okoye in compliance with the Court of Appeal judgment.
He argued that Ude-Okoye’s appointment as Anyanwu’s replacement was in tandem with the PDP’s constitution, which provided that any party official seeking elective office should first resign his or her position in the party.
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