PDP: Anyanwu And The Storm In A Tea Cup

It threatened to rain violence on Monday at the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when the national secretary of party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, was barred from resuming office by the Appeal Court, Enugu Division. The court verdict was delivered on December 20, 2024 as a result of a court case instituted by one of the camps engaged in the tussle for the soul of the PDP, following the struggle for supremacy between the two camps that are locking horns over who controls the reins of the dominant opposition party.

Squall Over Order

Last month, the Court of Appeal affirmed the nomination of the former PDP national youth leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye, to replace Anyanwu as the scribe of the party. However, to block the enforcement of the judgement, Anyanwu had quickly applied for stay of execution order, and filed an appeal at the Supreme Court. Curiously, the party’s national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, himself a lawyer, had announced that Anyanwu had ceased to be the national secretary of the PDP and that Ude-Okoye was now the new secretary.

Many have described the purported sack of Anyanwu through a flawed judicial declaration as a misnomer that must never be allowed to stand. With the national secretary applying for stay of execution order, Ologunagba’s press statement announcing Ude-Okoye was seen as a violation of the rules of the party. In accordance with party’s rules, a member of the National Working Committee (NWC) may resign his or her appointment before contesting an election. That Anyanwu did not resign before throwing his hat in the ring for the Imo governorship poll was never a crime.

For Anyanwu, a known ally to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr Nyesom Wike, those opposed to the former Rivers State governor believe that removing Anyanwu could facilitate the weakening of the minister in power and thereby, set the stage for the complete destruction of the camp belonging to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the PDP.

However, in securing the order that replaced Anyanwu with another candidate, the PDP’s rules were not only violated, the so-called sack of the national secretary was against the grain of legal procedures. The PDP secretary stormed the national headquarters last Monday to announce his resumption of duty, describing Ologunagba’s statement as an aberration unknow to the rules guiding the PDP

Nullity Of Sack

It’s clear that no part of the PDP Constitution compels any of its officers vying for an elective political office to resign his or her position. To buttress this point, the former deputy publicity secretary of the party, Ibrahim Abdullahi, among others, contested a non-party election for the PDP governorship ticket in Kebbi State, but is back in office without anyone calling for his removal.

The pressure to sack Anyanwu whose friendship with Wike is described as cordial. Those opposed to the FCT minister see in Anyanwu a rock of support for the former Rivers State governor that is locked in battle over who controls the party machinery ahead of the 2027 polls. Anyanwu’s resumption of duty at the PDP national head office on Monday amounted to a legal triumph over falsehood, following his application for a stay of execution and appeal at the nation’s apex court.

It’s a known legal procedure that once a stay of execution on a matter is filed, then, the enforcement of the court verdict is suspended until the determination of the application and the substantive court matter. In the case of Ogbunyanwa vs Okudo (2013) LPELR-20815(CA), it is clear that once an application for stay of execution is filed and pending, it bars the execution of the judgement, until the determination of the application.

Justifying why the PDP had to respect the order of the court, having received a stay of execution order on the Court of Appeal judgment removing Anyanwu as the party’s national secretary, the party’s deputy national publicity secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said yesterday in a press statement, “We are obliged as a law-abiding party, to respect the order of the court and also send a legal representation to defend the party in the suit when the motion on notice comes up on January 8, and February 5, for hearing on the originating summons. We hereby appeal to all PDP members to be restrained and law-abiding in waiting for the final position of the court on this matter.”

Awaiting Final Verdict

Many have described the Ologunagba’s statement that purportedly sacked Anyanwu as borne out of mischief and a case of sour grapes. As a lawyer himself and mouthpiece of the party, he knows too well the rules and that there are certain procedures that must be adhered to before the party’s national secretary can be removed. For anyone to assume the position of a national secretary, such a person must be formally sworn in. The question is: who swore in Ude-Okoye? The position of the national secretary can only be determined in a convention. Which convention nominated and ratified the appointment of Anyanwu’s replacement? All these questions are pointers to the fact that there is more to the issue than attempting to illegally replace Anyanwu.

Under party democracy, no one should be allowed to enthrone illegality in advancing his or her interest. At a time when the role of the opposition is crucial in advancing the rule of law, those who come to equity must come with clean hands. Therefore, it’s no surprise that instead of witnessing a bloody confrontation at the PDP national head office, it was denouement of a storm in a tea cup that was promoted by forces running against the rules.