Senator Samuel Anyanwu, on Monday, resumed office as national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the major opposition party.
His resumption heightens anxiety over the legal tussle over who the party’s national secretary is, a position being claimed by former national youth leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye, based on a court order.
The PDP national secretariat resumed official activities on Monday after its closure for the Yuletide holidays in the last week of December, 2024.
However, Ude-Okoye had two weeks ago declared his assumption of office as new national secretary based on the Appeal Court judgement, which sacked Anyanwu from office. He had visited the party secretariat and met with some governors and party leaders as well.
His declaration was echoed by the national publicity secretary of PDP, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, last week, who pronounced Ude-Okoye as the party’s secretary based on court judgement.
But, Anyanwu insisted that he had filed a stay of execution application at the Supreme Court over his removal by the appellate court.
He insisted that he remained the party’s national scribe in a letter he wrote to the organs of the party barely hours to the party’s resumption on Monday.
Addressing newsmen shortly after he got into office on Monday morning at the Wadata Plaza national secretariat building of the PDP, Anyanwu dressed in a white traditional attire and red cap to match, said he has resumed office, adding that Ologunagba and Ude-Okoye’s position on the legal issues were wrong.
He added that the national publicity secretary merely expressed his opinion when he he said the party leadership had recognised Ude-Okoye as national secretary.
“That is his opinion and not the opinion of the party. He merely made a statement and as national publicity secretary of our party, I wouldn’t want to disparage him in the media, may be he didn’t get the facts correct. He never knew that the matter had been appealed at the Supreme Court and he is a lawyer, so he should understand the position of the law,” Anyanwu stated.
