There is confusion in the Peoples Democratic Party as the National Working Committee insists that Sunday Ude-Okoye is the National Secretary of the party despite the Supreme Court judgment on Friday which appears to have reinstated a factional leader, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, as secretary.

The PDP has experienced internal struggles both before and after the 2023 elections, leading to instability and divisions within the party.

The acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, has faced considerable criticism, especially after replacing Iyorchia Ayu.

Tensions around the National Secretary role escalated when the South-East nominated Ude-Okoye to replace Anyanwu, who had been selected for the Imo governorship election in 2023.

After the matter was brought to court in December 2024, the Court of Appeal, Enugu division, declared Ude-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary.

However, following months of tension in the party, the Supreme Court overturned the Appeal Court’s judgment, reinstating Anyanwu as the party’s secretary.

The apex court, in a unanimous judgment of a five-member panel in Abuja on Friday, said the matter bordering on the leadership or membership of a political party was the internal affair of the party and should not be the business of a court.

The court proceeded to set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal, Enugu division, which on December 20, 2024 affirmed the decision of a Federal High Court in Enugu that removed Anyanwu as the National Secretary.

Following the concurrent judgments of the two courts (Federal High Court and Court of Appeal) that initially sacked Anyanwu, Sunday Udeh-Okoye was brought in as his replacement.

Anyanwu, dissatisfied with the judgments, approached the apex court to overturn the rulings of the lower courts.

The embattled party leader, in a 10-ground appeal filed through his counsel, Ken Njemanze (SAN), prayed the apex court to allow his appeal.

He argued that the appellate court erred in law when it upheld the trial court’s jurisdiction over a matter dealing with the internal affairs of the PDP.

Anyanwu contended that issues relating to party leadership and membership were non-justiciable and fell outside the jurisdiction of any court.

Additionally, he criticised the lower court for failing to rule on whether the plaintiff had complied with the mandatory internal dispute resolution mechanisms stipulated in the PDP constitution before filing the suit.

Anyanwu also faulted the lower court’s decision for holding that the plaintiff had the locus standi to institute the case, asserting that such issues were fundamental to the court’s jurisdiction to adjudicate the case.

The appellant further contended that the lower court erred in interpreting Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022, arguing that he neither resigned nor was removed from his position as National Secretary.

He emphasised that the PDP constitution outlined specific procedures for vacating executive offices, which included removal or resignation.

He also argues that Article 47 of the PDP constitution provides for a four-year single term for party officers, and added there was no basis for the concurrent findings of the lower courts that deemed him to have vacated his office.

Meanwhile, both the High Court and the Court of Appeal, Enugu, had agreed with the argument of the plaintiff, Aniagwu Emmanuel, that Anyanwu’s continued stay in office as National Secretary after purchasing a form, contesting and emerging as the party’s candidate in the governorship election that held in Imo State was a breach of the party’s constitution.

The apex court, in its judgement, agreed with Anyanwu that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to have entertained the suit instituted by the plaintiff.

While the apex court noted that internal political party issues were non-justiceable, the court also held that the plaintiff failed to convince the court on how who occupied the position of the National Secretary of PDP affected him.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur, the court held that the exceptional circumstances that would have given jurisdiction for the court to decide on the internal affairs of a political party were missing.

The court said the exceptional circumstances for such a matter to be entertained by the court were “if the Nigerian Constitution gives the court such jurisdiction, when there is the commission of a crime or violation of contractual rights”.

The Supreme Court held that Okoye, not being joined in the case, meant that Emmanuel lacked the legal rights to have instituted the matter at the Enugu division of the High court in the first instance and declared the judgments of the lower court vacated.

Immediately after the judgment, Anyanwu, accompanied by his supporters, arrived at the PDP National Headquarters at Wadata Plaza, Wuse, Zone 5.

In his brief remarks, he expressed gratitude to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and called on all party leaders to move past the issue and focus on uniting the party for the 2027 elections.

He stated, “I want to assure my colleagues in the NWC that we are one family. We came in here as one family, and we will leave as one family. It would not be right for only me to leave. Whoever may have acted out of deceit, I will not hold it against them.

“We are going to reshape our party. Our aim is to win the election in 2027. I appeal to all those causing confusion in our party to please desist, because this is the only party we have, and we cannot destroy it.

“I urge all warring factions to come together as one and continue to speak the truth. I will continue to speak the truth at all times.”

Soon after, the NWC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, asserted that the Supreme Court judgment reaffirmed the party’s official stance and resolved the controversy trailing the appointment of Okoye as the substantive National Secretary.

In the statement signed by Ologunagba, the committee clarified that the Supreme Court also confirmed that matters related to party leadership positions, including the National Secretary role, were purely internal affairs of the party and should be resolved through the party’s internal mechanisms, with no jurisdiction for the courts.

The statement read in part, “The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has received the judgment of the Supreme Court which affirmed that the issue of party leadership positions, including that of the National Secretary, is entirely an internal affair of the party requiring only the party internal mechanism to which the courts have no jurisdiction.

“Today’s judgment of the Supreme Court reaffirms the standing position of the party and emphatically settles the emergence of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye as the substantive National Secretary of the PDP having been duly nominated, endorsed and ratified through the internal mechanism of the PDP statutory organs and bodies in line with provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017).

“For clarity, the NWC at its 576th meeting held on the 11th of October, 2023, directed the South East Zonal Executive Committee to nominate a replacement for Senator Samuel Anyanwu upon Senator Anyanwu’s nomination as the governorship candidate of the PDP to contest the November 2023 governorship election in Imo State.

“Consequent upon the directive of the NWC, the South East Zonal Executive Committee at its meeting held on the 20th of October 2023 passed a resolution approving the emergence and forwarding of the name of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye to the NWC as the National Secretary of the party.”

The NWC called on all dedicated members of the PDP to stay united as they work together to advance the party.

The party commended the Supreme Court for upholding the principle of party supremacy, describing it as victory for democracy.