Saturday, January 18, 2025 - The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said it is obliged to obey the Appeal Court order restraining the party from appointing any person as acting National Secretary in place of Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
The party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi,
stated this at a news conference, tagged: “Just so the PDP may have a
breather,’’ on Friday in Abuja.
Abdullahi said in the last few days, PDP had been issued with two court
orders surrounding the authentic national secretary of the party.
He said, on Wednesday, PDP was served with an order of interim
injunction issued by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court in Maitama,
in a suit marked: CV/64/2025.
Abdullahi said that the order, in the suit instituted by the Imo PDP
Chairman, Austine Nwachukwu, through his counsel, Clement Mue, restrained the
party from recognising the PDP Deputy National Secretary, Setonji Koshoedo, as
the substantive national secretary.
He said the PDP was, on Thursday, also served with a stay of execution
order by the Court of Appeal (Abuja division) in an appeal No. CA/E/24/2024 on
a judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, on Dec. 20, 2024.
Abdullahi said the order came with an injunction restraining PDP or its
agents from enforcing or giving effect to the judgment of the appellate court,
pending the hearing and determination of the appeal filed at the Supreme Court.
According to him, the court, in its ruling on the ex parte application,
restrained PDP and its principal officers from removing Anyanwu from office,
pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice fixed for Jan.
28.
He said the court also restrained PDP, its leaders, Koshoedo or any
other person from acting as the party’s national secretary.
Abdullahi added that the deputy national secretary was equally
restrained from issuing any notice of meeting of the National Executive
Committee and National Working Committee, signing any document or performing
any function except on the directive of Anyanwu or in his absence.
“Accordingly, we are obliged, as a law-abiding party, to respect the
order of the court.
“We will also send a legal representation to defend the party in the
suit when the motion on notice comes up on Jan. 8 and Feb. 5 for hearing on the
originating summons,’’ he said.
Abdullahi said that Anyanwu remained the substantive national secretary
until the determination of the appeal before the Supreme Court.
“Where there is an appeal, it is only behooves on the appellant to wait
until the determination of the appeal. That is the position of law,’’ he said.
Abdullahi appealed to all PDP members to be law-abiding in waiting for
the final position of the court on the matter.
Asked why he was doing the news briefing when PDP has Debo Ologunagba as
its substantive National Publicity Secretary, Abudllahi said he enjoyed the
same power with Ologunagba to speak for the party.
He stated that he was directed by the party’s acting National Chairman,
Umar Damagum, to do so, following Ologunagba’s recent dispositions.
He said that Ologunagba had recently issued statements and held news
conferences on issues he claimed to be from the NWC, while the committee had
not met since September 2024.
“A national publicity secretary does not enjoy such powers. He cannot
speak for the NWC without clearance from the NWC. That is not the position of
law,’’ he said.
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