The National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Olu Agunloye, says the party is not open to merging with any political party.

Agunloye made this known in a statement, stressing that the party would resist any hostile takeover attempts by new members.

According to report in recent weeks, the SDP has welcomed new members from both the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Agunloye said while new members may have different motives, they must adhere to the party’s rules and constitution.

“APC and PDP, which have ruled Nigeria since 1999, have not done well.

“It is common knowledge that Nigeria is not where Nigerians expect it to be. Injustice, corruption, ‘money for vote’ elections, and high insecurity have led to economic crisis, massive youth unemployment, and pervasive poverty.

“People are suffering, and many more are getting trapped in poverty by the day. In the face of these challenges, the emergence of SDP as an alternative platform for progress has become compelling.

“This is why all SDP leaders and state chairmen are required to reach out to all people desirous of good governance to join the crusade for sustainable development and not leave this task only to our dynamic and charismatic National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Gabam,” he said.

According to him, SDP is inspired by vision, stimulated by a genuine desire to serve, and is proud to say it relies on ideology, adding that the party is a strong and reliable brand.

Agunloye further said that in managing the influx of contending interests, the party would cautiously avoid the pitfalls that led to the failure of past alliances.

The party’s National Secretary added that the SDP would continue to strengthen its institutions through enhancing membership registration processes, constitutional structures, and party organs and reinforcing all departments and directorates.

The founding National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy, AD, Prof Udenta Udenta, has accused President Bola Tinubu of dismantling democratic values and weaponizing the judiciary and the 1999 Constitution (as amended) against Nigerians.

Udenta said this on ‘Sunrise Daily’, a programme on Channels Television on Thursday.

The fellow of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, who was reacting to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, said the move was a distortion of democratic institutions by the Tinubu government.

“The system that should protect democratic governance, you are weaponising them; the judiciary, the apparatus of the state, you are distorting, diluting and transmogrifying them in a way and manner that is shutting down democratic conversations.

“That is what you find as the legacy of the Bola Tinubu president and his political agents. When you abandon the foundational norms of democracy and then you begin to use instruments you acquired in power to dismantle the guardrails that govern the democratic system, then democracy dies.

“It is not by firing a shot that democracy dies or crumbles, it is leveraging the guardrails like the constitution, like what was done in Rivers State, to abort democratic rules,” he said.

Udenta also accused Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd) of dismantling the levers of democracy with his suspension of all political appointees in the oil-rich state.

The scholar described what is practised in Rivers State as a “hybrid regime which is a part of competitive authoritarianism” being deployed to “manacle the spirit of a nation and abort democratic institutions at all levels” including labour unions, media houses, political parties, and civil societies.

He regretted that the quality of the lives of Nigerians in the last two years has depreciated, lamenting that there is widespread hunger and poverty in the land with escalating food inflation usurping the income of average Nigerians.

The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Felix Morka, has backed President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, saying the suspended governor, Siminalayi Fubara, trampled on democracy.

According to report after 15 months of political unrest in the oil-rich South-South state, the President declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, 18th March 2025, in a nationwide broadcast.

The President also invoked the provisions of Section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State, while also suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all members of the Rivers Assembly for an initial period of six months.

While several quarters have criticised the President’s constitutional authority to take such action, Morka, in an exclusive interview on Eagle 102.5 FM, which was monitored by our correspondent in Abeokuta on Tuesday, lambasted the opposition.

He said, “Everyone commenting has been speaking from a place of political bias; they’re not being objective. If they had been objective, I bet that I would have been invited to discuss the protracted actions of Governor Fubara in desecrating democracy. He was slapping democracy in the face by his actions.

“Shortly after he was elected into office, he moved to replace the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who was also elected like him. When his attempt to remove the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, failed, the governor pulled down the Assembly complex, effectively stalling legislative activities in the state. Yet none of these so-called opposition voices made high-sounding speeches or commentaries. Peter Obi did not say a word while Fubara sought to abolish the state legislature. He then proceeded to freeze every flow of money.”

Defending the state of emergency, Morka emphasised that President Tinubu acted within the framework of Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution, which empowers the President to declare a state of emergency in cases of severe threats to national security or governance.

According to him, intelligence reports indicated escalating security risks, including threats to critical oil infrastructure in Rivers State, after the biggest pipeline in Nigeria, the Trans Niger Pipeline, TNP, was reportedly vandalised.

Morka further pointed out that the declaration was not a unilateral decision but was later ratified by a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.

“The National Assembly is a multi-partisan body, not just an APC, PDP, or Labour Party assembly. It is the assembly of all parties with elected representatives. Together, having considered all the information available to them, they approved the President’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.”

One of the most controversial aspects of the declaration is the suspension of Governor Fubara. Critics, including members of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, have argued that Section 188 of the Constitution outlines a clear process for removing a governor, which was not followed in this case.

However, Morka contended that the President did not remove the governor but merely suspended him as an extraordinary measure to stabilise the state.

He cited Section 5, Subsection 3 of the Constitution, which states that a governor must not exercise executive authority in a way that undermines the federal government.

Morka, however, dismissed these criticisms, questioning why PDP governors and leaders failed to address the crisis before it escalated, accusing them of ignoring the governor’s actions for months, only to challenge the intervention when the federal government stepped in.

Segun Sowunmi, a former spokesman of the ex-Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Monday insisted that Samuel Anyanwu is the Secretary of the party.

Sowunmi disclosed this while reaffirming the judgment of the Supreme Court over the embattled position of PDP’s National Secretary.

Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye have been at loggerheads over who occupies the position of the PDP’s National Secretary.

However, the Supreme Court had affirmed Anyanwu as the party’s secretary.

Speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show, Sowunmi said: “By the decision of the Supreme Court today, Anyanwu is the National Secretary. If the NWC considers the judgment now that they have been given powers that it’s an internal affair, then when we get to that bridge, we will cross it.

“I think that for the sanity of the nation, especially for the integrity of the party, it’s totally wrong that one member of the NWC will jump the gun and not wait for the orders before taking the position, however right he may think his position is.

“You can do the right thing in the wrong way, and in this instance, he’s wrong.

“The court said the appeal succeeds and the reliefs sought by Anyanwu are granted. If he is celebrating that relief, it’s correct to do so.

“The court then gave us another window by saying that ‘parties were under a lot of constraints to take decisions in the best interest of matters before us.’

“In my opinion, without taking over the duties of the Governors’ Forum, the BoT, and the NWC, and in understanding that judgment, Samuel Anyanwu is the Secretary of the party.”

There is confusion in the Peoples Democratic Party as the National Working Committee insists that Sunday Ude-Okoye is the National Secretary of the party despite the Supreme Court judgment on Friday which appears to have reinstated a factional leader, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, as secretary.

The PDP has experienced internal struggles both before and after the 2023 elections, leading to instability and divisions within the party.

PDP crisis

The acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, has faced considerable criticism, especially after replacing Iyorchia Ayu.

Tensions around the National Secretary role escalated when the South-East nominated Ude-Okoye to replace Anyanwu, who had been selected for the Imo governorship election in 2023.

After the matter was brought to court in December 2024, the Court of Appeal, Enugu division, declared Ude-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary.

However, following months of tension in the party, the Supreme Court overturned the Appeal Court’s judgment, reinstating Anyanwu as the party’s secretary.

The apex court, in a unanimous judgment of a five-member panel in Abuja on Friday, said the matter bordering on the leadership or membership of a political party was the internal affair of the party and should not be the business of a court.

The court proceeded to set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal, Enugu division, which on December 20, 2024 affirmed the decision of a Federal High Court in Enugu that removed Anyanwu as the National Secretary.

Anyanwu’s grounds of appeal

Following the concurrent judgments of the two courts (Federal High Court and Court of Appeal) that initially sacked Anyanwu, Sunday Udeh-Okoye was brought in as his replacement.

Anyanwu, dissatisfied with the judgments, approached the apex court to overturn the rulings of the lower courts.

The embattled party leader, in a 10-ground appeal filed through his counsel, Ken Njemanze (SAN), prayed the apex court to allow his appeal.

He argued that the appellate court erred in law when it upheld the trial court’s jurisdiction over a matter dealing with the internal affairs of the PDP.

Anyanwu contended that issues relating to party leadership and membership were non-justiciable and fell outside the jurisdiction of any court.

Additionally, he criticised the lower court for failing to rule on whether the plaintiff had complied with the mandatory internal dispute resolution mechanisms stipulated in the PDP constitution before filing the suit.

Anyanwu also faulted the lower court’s decision for holding that the plaintiff had the locus standi to institute the case, asserting that such issues were fundamental to the court’s jurisdiction to adjudicate the case.

The appellant further contended that the lower court erred in interpreting Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022, arguing that he neither resigned nor was removed from his position as National Secretary.

He emphasised that the PDP constitution outlined specific procedures for vacating executive offices, which included removal or resignation.

He also argues that Article 47 of the PDP constitution provides for a four-year single term for party officers, and added there was no basis for the concurrent findings of the lower courts that deemed him to have vacated his office.

Meanwhile, both the High Court and the Court of Appeal, Enugu, had agreed with the argument of the plaintiff, Aniagwu Emmanuel, that Anyanwu’s continued stay in office as National Secretary after purchasing a form, contesting and emerging as the party’s candidate in the governorship election that held in Imo State was a breach of the party’s constitution.

Supreme court judgment

The apex court, in its judgement, agreed with Anyanwu that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to have entertained the suit instituted by the plaintiff.

While the apex court noted that internal political party issues were non-justiceable, the court also held that the plaintiff failed to convince the court on how who occupied the position of the National Secretary of PDP affected him.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur, the court held that the exceptional circumstances that would have given jurisdiction for the court to decide on the internal affairs of a political party were missing.

The court said the exceptional circumstances for such a matter to be entertained by the court were “if the Nigerian Constitution gives the court such jurisdiction, when there is the commission of a crime or violation of contractual rights”.

The Supreme Court held that Okoye, not being joined in the case, meant that Emmanuel lacked the legal rights to have instituted the matter at the Enugu division of the High court in the first instance and declared the judgments of the lower court vacated.

Anyanwu resumes at secretariat

Immediately after the judgment, Anyanwu, accompanied by his supporters, arrived at the PDP National Headquarters at Wadata Plaza, Wuse, Zone 5.

In his brief remarks, he expressed gratitude to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and called on all party leaders to move past the issue and focus on uniting the party for the 2027 elections.

He stated, “I want to assure my colleagues in the NWC that we are one family. We came in here as one family, and we will leave as one family. It would not be right for only me to leave. Whoever may have acted out of deceit, I will not hold it against them.

“We are going to reshape our party. Our aim is to win the election in 2027. I appeal to all those causing confusion in our party to please desist, because this is the only party we have, and we cannot destroy it.

“I urge all warring factions to come together as one and continue to speak the truth. I will continue to speak the truth at all times.”

PDP disagrees

Soon after, the NWC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, asserted that the Supreme Court judgment reaffirmed the party’s official stance and resolved the controversy trailing the appointment of Okoye as the substantive National Secretary.

In the statement signed by Ologunagba, the committee clarified that the Supreme Court also confirmed that matters related to party leadership positions, including the National Secretary role, were purely internal affairs of the party and should be resolved through the party’s internal mechanisms, with no jurisdiction for the courts.

The statement read in part, “The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has received the judgment of the Supreme Court which affirmed that the issue of party leadership positions, including that of the National Secretary, is entirely an internal affair of the party requiring only the party internal mechanism to which the courts have no jurisdiction.

“Today’s judgment of the Supreme Court reaffirms the standing position of the party and emphatically settles the emergence of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye as the substantive National Secretary of the PDP having been duly nominated, endorsed and ratified through the internal mechanism of the PDP statutory organs and bodies in line with provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017).

“For clarity, the NWC at its 576th meeting held on the 11th of October, 2023, directed the South East Zonal Executive Committee to nominate a replacement for Senator Samuel Anyanwu upon Senator Anyanwu’s nomination as the governorship candidate of the PDP to contest the November 2023 governorship election in Imo State.

“Consequent upon the directive of the NWC, the South East Zonal Executive Committee at its meeting held on the 20th of October 2023 passed a resolution approving the emergence and forwarding of the name of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye to the NWC as the National Secretary of the party.”

The NWC called on all dedicated members of the PDP to stay united as they work together to advance the party.

The party commended the Supreme Court for upholding the principle of party supremacy, describing it as victory for democracy.

Confusion over ruling

When Saturday TheNigerian visited the PDP national headquarters, the premises were empty, with no NWC officials in sight.

Staff members were engaged in debates over the Supreme Court judgment and the NWC’s position.

Our correspondent’s attempts to get comments from party leaders revealed that many stakeholders were confused, with most declining to speak until the Certified True Copy of the judgment was made public.

21st March 2025

There was confusion at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, national secretariat on Friday as Samuel Anyanwu returned to office as the National Secretary.

His return to the PDP national secretariat was captured in a viral video sighted by DAILY POST on Friday.

In the video, Anyanwu, flanked by his supporters, was seen thanking God and PDP leaders for the victory at the Supreme Court.

“I thank my leaders and PDP faithful across the country who stood by the truth,” he said.

This comes amid conflicting interpretations of Friday’s Supreme Court judgement regarding the right occupant of the seat.

DAILY POST reported on Friday that the Supreme Court nullified the judgements of the Court of Appeal and Federal High Court, which sacked Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The apex court, in a judgement delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur, struck out judgements by trial courts in October and December last year.

However, minutes after the ruling by the Supreme Court, a statement from PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba said the apex court rather upheld Samuel1 Udeh-Okoye as its National Secretary.

The confusion has added more fuel to the chaos in the country’s main opposition party.

The Supreme Court has nullified the judgements of the Court of Appeal and Federal High Court, which sacked Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

DAILY POST gathered that a five-member panel of the apex court on Friday held that the issue of who is the National Secretary of the PDP borders on the internal affairs of a political party, which is not justiciable.

Justice Jamilu Tukur, who delivered the lead judgment of the Supreme Court, consequently struck out the judgment of the trial court delivered in October last year and also set aside the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had in December affirmed the sack of Anyanwu as PDP’s National Secretary.

Justice Tukur subsequently affirmed the minority judgment of the appellate court delivered by Justice Ekanem, which had nullified the judgment of the trial court on account of lack of jurisdiction.

Besides, the apex court held that the plaintiff, Aniagu Emmanuel, who initiated the suit at the trial court, lacked the necessary legal backing to do so, since he did not show how he was affected by who is the National Secretary of the PDP.

Details later.

The Council Chairman of Munya Local Government Area of Niger State, Aminu Najumei, has revealed that the council secretary, Daina Usman, who was abducted on Thursday night, managed to escape from his abductors on Friday.

The council chairman, who made this known on Friday while reacting to news of his council secretary’s abduction, said Usman escaped from his abductors when the bandits were searching for a place to hide them.

TheNigerian Online learnt that bandits had on Thursday abducted Usman along with his wife, two children and one other person in a late-night attack in Sarkin Pawa, Niger State.

The attack was said to have occurred around 10 pm when the bandits infiltrated Usman’s residence, located near the riverbank in Sarkin Pawa,

It was, however, gathered that the council secretary escaped when the bandits were trying to take them to a hiding place, leaving his wife and children.

It was gathered that after the secretary and others were abducted, the bandits fled with the hostages into the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

According to a security source, while Sarkin Pawa, where the victims were abducted, is an area frequently targeted by bandits and terrorists for their attacks, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State is notorious as a known escape route for criminal elements operating in the area.

It was further gathered that upon receiving a distress call from local vigilantes, security operatives mobilised a joint task force comprising military personnel from the Forward Operating Base, Sarkin Pawa, Niger State Police Tactical Teams, and local vigilante groups on a manhunt for the kidnappers.

The security operatives were said to have followed the trail of the bandits to Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, where they launched a coordinated search-and-rescue operation to track down the bandits and ensure the safety of the victims.

The spokesman for the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the abduction to our correspondent, saying that the council secretary.

He said efforts were ongoing to rescue the remaining victims, saying the efforts for their rescue were in progress.

“He was abducted yesterday around 10 pm, and he was released early this morning around 3 am. Efforts to rescue others are in progress,” Abiodun said in a terse WhatsApp message.