The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State, Samuel Anyanwu, has been restrained by the High Court of Enugu State from parading himself as National Secretary of the party.
The restraining order was handed down in a judgment delivered on Thursday by Justice C.O. Ajah in a suit with number E/882/2023, filed by Aniagu Emmanuel.
The court also ordered the National Chairman of PDP, Amb Iliya Umar Damagun, to recognise, and conduct swearing for Hon. S.K.E. Udeh Okoye, the person recommended by the South East Zonal Executive Committee, as a replacement for Anyanwu, when he chose to contest the 2023 governorship election in Imo State.
The case had the PDP as first defendant; National Chairman of PDP, Amb Iliya Umar Damagun, as second defendant; National Secretary of the party, Samuel N. Anyanwu, as third defendant; and the party’s National Vice Chairman, South East Zone, High Chief Ali Odefa, as fourth defendant.
The court held that the third defendant has a lot of input to make in taking and implementing decisions on who would be adjudged eligible to contest the gubernatorial primaries, and who should be enthroned as the gubernatorial standard bearer of the PDP in all the 36 states of the federation.
The judgment read in part: “The third defendant was elected in April 2023 as the gubernatorial candidate of the first defendant (PDP) for the Imo State Governorship election billed for November, 2023 whilst the third defendant still doubles as the National Secretary of the first defendant. By occupying the two positions, the third defendant made himself a judge in his own cause.
“The spirit and letters of the first defendant’s constitution and Electoral Guidelines for primary elections given by the National Executive Council of the first defendant in March 2022 does not contemplate a situation where the same person will emerge as a gubernatorial candidate of the first defendant in any state and still occupy the position of the National Secretary of the first defendant.
“By the third defendant declaring his interest, buying the forms of the first defendant for the gubernatorial election, using himself to be nominated as an aspirant to the gubernatorial primaries of the first defendant for the 2023 gubernatorial election in Imo State in April 2023, standing the primaries of the first defendant for the gubernatorial flag of the first defendant in the said election, had elected of his own volition to vacate the office of National Secretary.
“The second defendant is hereby ordered to recognise in all situations, for all purposes, and in every manner necessary, including swearing in, Hon. S.K.E. Udeh Okoye (the person recommended by the South East Zonal Executive Committee of the first defendant to enable Hon. S.K.E. Udeh Okoye to serve out the time left in the tenure for which the third defendant was elected as National Secretary in 2021.”
