The Supreme Court has settled a long-standing leadership dispute within the People's Democratic Party (PDP) by affirming Samuel Anyanwu as the party's National Secretary. In a unanimous decision on Friday, the five-member Supreme Court panel ruled that disputes over a political party's leadership or membership fall under the party's internal affairs and should not be decided by the courts, except in exceptional circumstances.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Jamilu Tukur stated that courts can only intervene when the Nigerian Constitution expressly grants jurisdiction, there is an allegation of crime, or there is a violation of contractual rights - conditions which were not met in this case. As a result, the Apex Court ruled in favor of Anyanwu, effectively nullifying previous lower court decisions that had affirmed his rival, Sunday Ude-Okoye, as the authentic PDP National Secretary.
The leadership dispute arose after Anyanwu initially resigned from the position to contest the Imo governorship election, which he later lost. Upon his return, efforts to reclaim his seat led to a crisis, with different party blocs backing either Anyanwu or Ude-Okoye. The matter escalated through the courts, with a Federal High Court and the Appeal Court in Enugu previously ruling in Ude-Okoye's favor before the Supreme Court's intervention.
The Supreme Court's ruling is expected to restore stability within the PDP, particularly among supporters of Anyanwu, who has strong ties to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike. However, it remains to be seen how Ude-Okoye and his faction will react to the decision.
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