PDP BoT chair upholds Appeal Court sack of Anyanwu as national secretary

• Says party must obey Appeal Court judgment

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

Amid rising tension over the Appeal Court judgment on the disputed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Secretary position, the opposition party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) has said all organs must comply with the judgment.

The BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, who stated this in a telephone interview with Sunday Sun, said the PDP as a law-abiding party cannot afford to disobey the judgment of the appellate court.

The Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, in its judgment on two different appeals, on December 20, 2024, affirmed the nomination of former PDP National Youth Leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye, as replacement for Senator Samuel Anyanwu as national secretary.

The South East chapter of the PDP had nominated Ude-Okoye as Anyanwu’s replacement, immediately the latter emerged the standard bearer of the opposition party in last Imo State governorship election.

However, the judgement has exacerbated the division in the opposition party. While the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, says the party will comply with the judgment, Anyanwu has continued to insist that he is still the national secretary of the major opposition party.  The embattled former senator said this is because he has appealed the judgment as well as filed a stay of execution.

Nevertheless, Wabara, while speaking to Sunday Sun, on the state of affairs in the PDP, said it is important for all organs of the party, including the National Working Committee (NWC) to comply with the judgment.

His word: “The judiciary is the last hope of the citizenry. Whatever judgment, whether good or bad, it is the law. Once a judgment is given, it is the law and it has to be respected. When you don’t respect the judgment of the court, then you are heading for anarchy.

“Therefore, I appeal to members of the National Working Committee that they must obey the Appeal Court judgment; particularly as I was told recently that there were appeal court cases – one from Anyanwu and the other one from the side of Ude Okoye. The court captured the two appeals and delivered a judgment.

“Nobody should disobey that judgment. PDP is known to be very law abiding. Every judgment from the court is a law.  After the Appeal Court you can still go higher to the Supreme Court.

“And when the Supreme Court judgment comes, that would be it. But for now, the Appeal Court judgment subsists and should be obeyed by the NWC, and BoT. All the organs of the party must obey that judgment pending when there is a contrary judgment.”

Wabara added: “That judgment was declaratory and you can’t stay a declaratory judgment. You can challenge it, but you can’t disobey a declaratory judgement by saying that because you have filed or you are about to file or you about to challenge that declaratory judgment in the higher court in this case, the Supreme Court, that is equivalent to stay of execution.”