The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday, urged the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court to hands off the suit Senator Samuel Anyanwu filed to challenge his removal as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The electoral body, in a counter-affidavit it filed in opposition to the suit, argued that it would be in the interest of justice for all the parties to await the outcome of an appeal on the dispute, already pending before the Supreme Court.
In a 10 paragraphed affidavit that was deposed to by one Mohammed Ayuba, INEC said it was in line with its powers, as well as its Regulations, Guidelines and Manuals, that any correspondence between it and political parties, must be signed by both the National Chairman and National Secretary of the political parties.
The Commission told the court that it deliberately decided all these while, not to comment on Anyanwu’s legal action.
“That the 1st defendant did not intend to join issues with the plaintiff, pending the determination of the appeal at the Supreme Court,” INEC stated.
Besides, it argued that “the courts jurisdiction is ousted in matters dealing with internal affairs of political parties.”
At the resumed proceeding in the matter, counsel to INEC, Mr. Ahmed Mohammed, drew the attention of the court to the counter-affidavit his client filed against Senator Anyanwu’s suit, on March 7.
Likewise, other defendants in the case indicated that they filed preliminary objections to challenge the competence of the suit.
On his part, Chief Udeh-Okoye Enemchukwu, who the party had since endorsed as Senator Anyanwu’s replacement, told the court that all the parties had since entered their respective briefs of argument before the Supreme Court.
He insisted that Senator Anyanwu had ceased to be the National Secretary of the PDP, following the concurrent judgements of both the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Enugu .
Chief Udeh-Okoye, who is the 4th defendant, told the court that though the plaintiff was elected at a National Convention the party held on October 30, 2021, for a four-year tenure, he, however, lost the position after he was nominated as candidate of the party for the governorship election that held in Imo State in 2023.
He told the court that whereas Article 47(5) of the PDP Constitution requires any officer elected into the party’s Executive Committee at any level, to resign before running for any elective office, Article 47 (6) made provision for the appointment of someone from the same area or zone, to serve out the tenure of such officer.
The fourth defendant told the court that following Senator Anyanwu’s refusal to vacate the office, the Board of Trustees of the PDP, in a letter dated October 12, 2023, drew the attention of the National Chairman of the party, Ambassador Umar Damagun, to the constitutional breach.
He said the South East zone Executives of the party, in a meeting held at Enugu on October 16, 2022, nominated him to serve out the residue of Senator Anyanwu’s remaining tenure in office.
Chief Udeh-Okoye told the court that the litigation that led to the concurrent judgements of the courts in Enugu, was a fallout of the meeting where he was nominated, stressing that the Supreme Court is already seized of the facts of the case.
“I am aware that subject to the unlikely event that the plaintiff’s appeal at the Supreme Court is allowed, I remain the authentic and substantive National Secretary of the PDP,” the 4th defendant added in the affidavit he filed through his team of lawyers led by Mr. Paul Erokoro, SAN.
Meanwhile, Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the matter till March 25 to hear all the preliminary objections alongside the substantive suit.
Senator Anyanwu had approached the court, praying it to stay the execution of the judgements that sacked him from office.
It will be recalled that Court of Appeal in Enugu had in a judgement it delivered last December, upheld a High Court verdict that sacked Senator Anyanwu and recognized Chief Udeh-Okoye as the national scribe of the party.
The court held that Anyanwu’s continued stay in office as National Secretary was in breach of PDP’s Constitution, having contested and emerged as the party’s candidate in the governorship election that held in Imo State last year.
Dissatisfied with the verdicts, Anyanwu lodged an appeal that has been reserved for judgement by the Supreme Court.
The BOT and National Working Committee, NWC, of the PDP had in line with the subsisting judgements, endorsed Chief Udeh-Okoye as the National Secretary of the party.
Anyanwu outrightly rejected their decisions, insisting that the position is still the subject of an ongoing litigation.
VANGUARD
