INEC Urges Court to Drop Anyanwu’s Case

The ongoing leadership crisis within Nigeria’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a new turn as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has requested the Federal High Court in Abuja to discontinue its involvement in the case concerning Senator Samuel Anyanwu’s removal as the party’s National Secretary. INEC’s position is anchored on the premise that the matter is currently under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, rendering further deliberations at the lower court level inappropriate.

Senator Anyanwu’s tenure as National Secretary, which commenced on October 30, 2021, was expected to span four years. However, his decision to contest as the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 Imo State elections has been a focal point of contention. According to Article 47(5) of the PDP Constitution, any officer elected into the party’s Executive Committee is mandated to resign before pursuing another elective position. Article 47(6) further stipulates that a successor from the same zone should be appointed to complete the remaining tenure of the vacated office.

Following Anyanwu’s gubernatorial candidacy, the PDP’s Board of Trustees, in a letter dated October 12, 2023, alerted the National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagun, to this constitutional infraction. Subsequently, the South East zonal executives of the party convened on October 16, 2022, nominating Chief Udeh-Okoye Enemchukwu to assume the role of National Secretary for the remainder of Anyanwu’s term.

The legal battle intensified as both the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Enugu delivered judgments upholding Anyanwu’s removal. Undeterred, Anyanwu escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, seeking redress. In response to his ousting, Anyanwu initiated a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging his removal and seeking to restrain INEC from recognizing any correspondence from the PDP not bearing his signature.

During a recent hearing, INEC’s counsel, Mr. Ahmed Mohammed, highlighted the commission’s stance that the Federal High Court should refrain from adjudicating the case, given its pending status at the Supreme Court. INEC emphasized that it had deliberately refrained from engaging in the matter to avoid jurisdictional conflicts and to uphold the integrity of the judicial process.

Chief Enemchukwu, now recognized by the PDP as the legitimate National Secretary, reinforced INEC’s position. He asserted that Anyanwu’s tenure effectively ended upon his gubernatorial nomination, in line with the party’s constitutional provisions. Enemchukwu further noted that the Supreme Court had already received