The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has stated it is compelled to respect the Appeal Court judgment prohibiting the party from choosing any person as acting National Secretary in lieu of Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
The party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, announced this at a news conference, tagged: “Just so the PDP may have a breather,’’ on Friday in Abuja.
According to Abdullahi, the PDP has received two court rulings in recent days concerning the party’s legitimate national secretary.
According to him, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court in Maitama served the PDP with an order of interim injunction on Wednesday in a case with the case number CV/64/2025.
According to Abdullahi, the order prevented the party from recognizing PDP Deputy National Secretary Setonji Koshoedo as the substantive national secretary in the lawsuit filed by Austine Nwachukwu, the chairman of the Imo PDP, through his attorney Clement Mue.
He added that in an appeal No. CA/E/24/2024 on a judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, on December 20, 2024, the PDP was also served with a stay of execution order by the Court of Appeal (Abuja division) on Thursday.
According to Abdullahi, the decree included an injunction prohibiting PDP or its representatives from implementing or enforcing the appellate court’s ruling until the Supreme Court heard and decided the appeal.
He claims that in its decision on the ex parte application, the court prevented the PDP and its key executives from dismissing Anyanwu until after the hearing and decision of the move on notice scheduled for January 28.
According to him, the court also prohibited Koshoedo, the PDP, its leaders, or anybody else from serving as the national secretary of the party.
According to Abdullahi, the deputy national secretary was also prohibited from signing any documents, announcing meetings of the National Working Committee and National Executive Committee, or carrying out any other duties unless directed by Anyanwu or while he was not present.
As a result, we have a duty to obey the court’s order as law-abiding citizens.
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“When the motion on notice is heard on January 8 and February 5 for the hearing on the originating summons, we will also send a lawyer to defend the party in the suit,” he stated.
According to Abdullahi, Anyanwu continued to serve as the substantive national secretary until the Supreme Court’s decision on the appeal.
“In cases where there is an appeal, the appellant would be better off waiting for the appeal’s outcome. “That is the legal position,” he stated.
Abdullahi urged all PDP members to follow the law while they await the court’s ultimate ruling on the issue.
When asked why he was giving the news briefing, Abudllahi replied that he shared the same authority as Debo Ologunagba, the PDP’s substantive national publicity secretary, to speak on behalf of the party.
He said that in light of Ologunagba’s recent rulings, he was instructed to do so by Umar Damagum, the party’s acting national chairman.
He said that although the committee had not convened since September 2024, Ologunagba had recently made announcements and given press conferences on topics he claimed to represent the NWC.
Such authority is not available to a national publicity secretary. Without NWC approval, he is unable to speak on behalf of the NWC. “That is not the legal position,” he stated.
