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The Federal High Court’s Abuja Division has been urged by the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, to step aside from the lawsuit brought by Senator Samuel Anyanwu, contesting his dismissal as the PDP’s national secretary.

In a counter-affidavit submitted in opposition to the lawsuit, INEC contended that it would be reasonable for all parties to wait for the judgment of an appeal over the matter, which is currently before the Supreme Court.

The electoral commission said in a 10-paragraph declaration submitted by a man named Mohammed Ayuba that, in accordance with its authority and its rules, guidelines, and manuals, all correspondence with political parties must be signed by the party’s national secretary as well as national chairman.

The court was informed by the electoral umpire that it had purposefully chosen not to comment on Anyanwu’s lawsuit.

“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.

INEC asserts that cases involving the internal affairs of political parties are outside the court’s jurisdiction.

Ahmed Mohammed, INEC’s counsel, brought up the counter-affidavit his client filed on March 7 against Senator Anyanwu’s action when the matter’s hearings started.

Other defendants in the case also stated that they have submitted preliminary objections contesting the suit’s competency.

Udeh-Okoye Enemchukwu, who has already received the party’s endorsement to succeed Senator Anyanwu, informed the court that each side had already filed their briefs of argument with the Supreme Court.

In response to the concurrent rulings of the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Enugu, he demanded that Senator Anyanwu resign as the PDP’s national secretary.

The fourth defendant, Udeh-Okoye, informed the court that while the plaintiff was elected for a four-year term at a party National Convention on October 30, 2021, he lost the job after being selected as the party’s nominee for the 2023 Imo State governorship election.

According to him, Article 47(6) of the PDP Constitution allows for the appointment of a person from the same region or zone to serve out the term of an elected official, while Article 47(5) requires any officer elected to the party’s Executive Committee at any level to resign before running for an elective office.

The fourth defendant further informed the court that the PDP’s Board of Trustees had alerted the party’s National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagun, of the constitutional violation in a letter dated October 12, 2023, after Senator Anyanwu refused to leave his position.

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