The Supreme Court has reserved its decision in a case brought by Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who is challenging his removal as the National Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Anyanwu is asking the court to overturn the decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which both upheld his removal following his resignation to run for the Imo State governorship election in 2023.
During the hearing in Abuja on Monday, Anyanwu’s lawyer, Kingsley Njemanze, argued that Anyanwu should be reinstated as PDP National Secretary since he had lost the governorship race and should be allowed to return to his former position.
However, the PDP’s representative, Chief Paul Erokoro, disagreed, stating that Anyanwu’s return to the role was not in line with the party’s constitution, as he had resigned to pursue another political office.
Another party involved, Ali Odeifa, opposed Anyanwu’s appeal, urging the court to reject the case as without merit.
Justice Musa Uwani Aba-Aji, who led the five-judge panel, noted that the court would notify the parties involved when it was ready to deliver its judgment.
The case revolves around Anyanwu’s removal after he contested the 2023 governorship election in Imo State as the PDP candidate and lost.
His removal was confirmed by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which ruled that his claim to the National Secretary position violated PDP rules.
Anyanwu, unsatisfied with these rulings, sought a final decision from the Supreme Court.
In a previous turn of events, the Supreme Court had dismissed Anyanwu’s request to stay the execution of the lower court’s decisions.
Following this, Anyanwu withdrew the application for a stay, focusing instead on seeking the reversal of his removal.
The PDP had already appointed Chief Sunday Ude-Okoye as the legitimate National Secretary, a decision upheld by the appellate court.
The Supreme Court will soon announce its ruling on whether to allow Anyanwu to reclaim his position within the party.
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