In accordance with the decision made by the South East zone of the Peoples Democratic Party, the PDP constitution, and a legitimate court ruling, the leadership of the zone on Tuesday urged the National Working Committee and other party organs to confirm Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary.

Regarding the national secretary, S’East and PDP NWC draws battle lines

Despite serving as the party’s foundation since its founding, PDP officials in the South-East zone denounced the way the party has treated the zone.

However, because the zone was not a PDP slave, the leaders forewarned the party’s national leadership that they would not put up with any further delays in ratifying Udeh-Okoye as the party’s national secretary.

The South East Zonal Executive Committee and party leaders met in Enugu on Tuesday, with the governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, the PDP National Vice Chairman for South East, Chief Ali Odefa, and Senator Adolphus Wabara, the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, among others. The zonal leadership issued a communique at the conclusion of the meeting.

Despite serving as the party’s foundation since its founding, PDP officials in the South-East zone denounced the way the party has treated the zone.

“We have carried the banner of the PDP in the South-East with great pride,” Mbah stated in his opening remarks. Therefore, I believe it would be incorrect to disregard our viewpoint when, as a people, we have united on an issue that concerns us as PDP members in the South-East and a decision was made in accordance with our party’s constitution and the election procedures.

Wabara, the PDP BoT Chairman, was also lamenting the insignificance of the way the party’s national leadership has handled the South-East region of the party.

“I believe that we are here to decide whether we, the South-East, will continue to be slaves in this party,” Wabara stated during the meeting’s opening remarks. The mistreatment of Igbo people hurts me. We’re being handled like property. As a result, we will have made a significant choice before we depart, and it must be followed. That’s the reason we’re here.

A court of competent jurisdiction has upheld the PDP’s constitution, which requires Senator Samuel Anyanwu to renounce his position as National Secretary. Chief Odefa read the communiqué that was released following the meeting and stated, “The meeting reiterated and reconfirmed its decisions in its earlier meeting held on October 20, 2023.”

“In compliance with the party’s constitution, the meeting confirmed the nomination of S.K.E. Udeh-Okoye to succeed him as National Secretary of the party, to serve the balance of his tenure.

As stated below, the PDP constitution is quite clear on an elected national party official’s right to withdraw from office if they have run or are currently running for office.

Any elected PDP national officer who wants to run for an elective post must resign, according to Section 47(5). It grants the party’s National Executive Committee the authority to set the standards for how long a resignation must be announced.

Based on the aforementioned, Clause VI (1) of the PDP Governorship Primary Guidelines stipulates, among other things, the following: “Any candidate who holds a party office or is an executive committee member at any level shall resign his or her office or appointment seven (7) days prior to the purchase of the Expression of Interest Form and shall provide proof of resignation along with his or her completed EoI Form before being allowed to procure the Nomination Form.'” This is in accordance with Section 47 (5) of the Peoples’ Democratic Party Constitution (2017 as amended), which mandates the resignation of any elected national officer of the party running for elective office. This requirement must be followed, otherwise the candidate would be automatically disqualified.

In addition to purchasing the Expression of Interest form, Senator Anyanwu also purchased the Nomination form, entered the primary, and emerged as the PDP’s nominee for governor of Imo State in the previous year’s governorship election. Despite the fact that his resignation was due to the PDP’s Constitution, Guidelines, and the operation of law, Senator Anyanwu assured the PDP Governors’ Forum and the party’s leaders in the South-East that he would formally step down before to the Imo State elections.

Furthermore, on December 28, 2023, the Enugu State High Court, a court with competent jurisdiction, decided in a thoughtful decision that Senator Anyanwu “had elected on his own volition to vacate the office of National Secretary” by running for the PDP’s gubernatorial primary.

The court also mandated that S.K.E. Udeh-Okoye be acknowledged as the party’s national secretary.

However, a Federal High Court in Abuja ruled around two weeks later on January 9, 2024, in a ruling that was likely acquired per in curiam and in an abuse of court procedure, that Senator Anyanwu should continue to serve as the National Secretary. It should be noted that both courts have coordinating jurisdiction, and the Enugu High Court rendered its decision first. Furthermore, there is no requirement for the Independent National Electoral Commission to be involved; all that is needed is notification of the state High Court ruling to INEC.

As a result, the party pleaded with the PDP NWC and other bodies to acknowledge Hon. Udeh-Okoye as the party’s legitimate national secretary.

The statement continued, “Finally, we enjoin the PDP National Assembly Caucus, the PDP Board of Trustees, the PDP Governors’ Forum, the National Working Committee of the party, and all other organs and stakeholders of the party, to recognize S.K.E. Udeh-Okoye as the legitimate National Secretary of the PDP.

This is in accordance with the party’s constitution and its practice, which was recently granted to the National Woman Leader of the South-South and the National Vice Chairman of the South-West on the replacement of the party leadership in the event of a vacancy.

“As devoted party members, we firmly feel that maintaining the zone’s nomination is in the party’s best interest to prevent outside forces from trying to undermine the party.”

Former governors Achike Udenwa, Sam Egwu, and Emeka Ihedioha; Okwesilieze Nwodo, the former PDP National Chairman; Senator Osita Ngwu, the Senate Minority Whip; and members of the Board of Trade, Mrs. Josephine Anenih, Ambassador Justina Eze, and Dame Rita Mbah, are among the other signatories to the communiqué issued following the well-attended meeting.