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The Peoples Democratic Party, or PDP, has stated that it must abide by the ruling of the Appeal Court that prohibits the party from designating a substitute for Senator Samuel Anyanwu as acting National Secretary.
“Just so the PDP may have a breather,” Ibrahim Abdullahi, the party’s deputy national publicity secretary, said during a news conference 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 accepting 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 judgement 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.
“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.
According to Abdullahi, Anyanwu continued to serve as the substantive national secretary until the Supreme Court’s decision on the appeal.
“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 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.
“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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