The Rivers State High Court has invalidated the Local Government and State Congresses conducted by the Tony Okocha-led All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State. The decision comes after the party conducted the congresses, disregarding a court order.

The Rivers APC, under Okocha’s leadership, had organized the congresses, which resulted in the inauguration of new executives on December 14 by APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje. Some members challenged the congresses’ legitimacy, alleging exclusion from the process despite making necessary payments.

Appeal Court Sacks PDP National Secretary Anyanwu affirms Ude Okoye as National Secretary.

Senator Sam Anyanwu

The Appeal Court sitting in Enugu on Friday sacked Sen.Samuel Anyanwu as People’s Democratic Party National Secretary and declared Rt.Hon.Ude Okoye as his replacement to complete the remaining tenure created by the automatic vacancy in the office when Sen Samuel Anyanwu left as the national secretary to run for the governorship position.

The Appeal Court affirmed the judgement of the High Court in Enugu, which had sacked Anyawu as PDP Secretary earlier on. It upheld the nomination by South East PDP Executives, who nominated Rt. Hon.Ude Okoye will replace Anyawu as PDP Secretary. The Court, in a lead Judgment delivered by Justice Ridwan Abdullahi, described Anyawu’s claim to the PDP secretaryship despite contesting and emerging as PDP governorship candidate as a grave violation of the PDP constitution and declared that his Appeal against the lower court judgement lacked merit.

Reacting to the development, the Opposition Lawmakers Coalition hailed the judgment as the Dawn of a new era in PDP and an end to the shameless politics of sabotage, betrayal, political materialism, and sellout that Anyawu represented. It said that the acting PDP chairman, Umar Damagun, who is in the same shameless boat as Anyawu in the agenda to kill the opposition, is next.

In a statement signed by their spokesman, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, the lawmakers described the judgment as the beginning to ending Damagun/Anyanwu’s evil politics against PDP.

He noted that they fully support the judgment and pledge loyalty to Ude Okoye as the substantive national secretary.

He said, “We want to salute the courage of the Appeal Court to have ended this madness by first of all upholding the judgment of Enugu State High Court that recognizes the decision of South East PDP leaders that nominated Ude Okoye as substantive national secretary to complete the remaining tenure created by the vacancy in the office created by Samuel Anyanwu’s resignation as National secretary when he went to run for governorship.

“The Appeal Court has restated the principle of the PDP constitution that anyone elected to the executive committee of the party at any level may resign his or her office by giving 30 days’ notice in writing to the executive committee, except in cases of vying for an elective office which shall be effective within the period stipulated by NEC. The law has said that you should resign. You have decided to resign when you choose to run for the election.

We thank the Appeal Court. The opposition lawmakers are one hundred percent with our new National secretary, Ude Okoye. We support and accept the decision; the opposition lawmakers’ coalition is happy.”