Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date after Anyanwu’s counsel, Ken Njemanze, SAN, and defence lawyers adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the suit.

Justice Ekwo also ordered Njemanze to make available to the court within seven days of the order the judgement of the Supreme Court delivered on Friday.

“I am going to give you a fairly long date for judgment but if the judgment is ready before that date, parties will receive hearing notice,” the judge said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Supreme Court had March 21, set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, delivered on Dec. 20, 2024, which affirmed the removal of Anyanwu as the national secretary of PDP.

In a unanimous judgment by a five-member panel, the apex court ruled that matters concerning the leadership or membership of a political party are internal affairs and should not be subject to judicial intervention.

The court held that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter initially brought by Aniagwu Emmanuel, a member of the party.

However, the judgment, expected to bring an end to the crisis, had left the PDP leadership and members in disarray, as the two main parties in the suit; Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye, now claim to be valid national secretary after the apex court decision.

Meanwhile, Anyanwu, in the instant suit, had originally sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Umar Damagun, the acting National Chairman of PDP, as 1st and 2nd defendants.

In the ex-parte motion: marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025 dated and filed on Feb. 13 by Njemanze, Anyanwu sought two prayers.

He sought an order of interim injunction, restraining INEC from accepting, acting on or giving effect to any correspondence from the PDP not signed by him pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.

He also sought an order of interim injunction restraining Damagun from dispatching to INEC any correspondence purportedly emanating from PDP signed by the acting chair and not counter signed by him.

However, the court joined had, on Feb. 28, given an order joining the PDP and Udeh-Okoye in the suit as 3rd and 4th defendants.

The judge equally joined Dr Ali Odela and Mr Setonji Koshoedo as 5th and 6th defendants respectively.

While Odela is said to be the national vice chairman, PDP’s South East, Koshoedo is said to be the deputy national secretary of the party.

Earlier while adopting their processes, Akintayo Balogun, who appeared for Damagun and Odela, including T.J. Aondo, SAN, who appeared for PDP, challenged the jurisdiction of the court.

They urged the court to dismiss Anyanwu’s suit.

Also, Eric Ekeret, who represented the Udeh-Okoye and J.A. Musa who appeared for Koshoedo, prayed the court to grant their relief in the interest of justice.

Ahmed Mohammed, lawyer to the INEC, equally moved their processes in the suit.

The lawyer, who said they filed a counter affidavit and a written address, adopted their applications.

On his alert, Njemanze, while adopting his processes, prayed the court to grant the application and resolved the issues raised in favour of his client (Anyanwu).(NAN)

This marks a key step in improving transport infrastructure and regional connectivity in the South East.

Tinubu was represented by Anambra governor, Charles Soludo, at the event. He stated that the Second Niger Bridge, inaugurated in 2023, has significantly eased travel between the South East and other regions.

However, he explained that the bridge’s full benefits have been limited by incomplete access roads. The newly launched Phase 2B aims to address this issue by enhancing connectivity.

The project includes a 17.5km dual carriageway featuring seven bridges and modern infrastructure. These upgrades will include security cameras to enhance safety along the route.

The road will extend from the Umunya/Ogbunike axis of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.

It will pass through the Old Enugu Road Interchange, Ogidi, Nkpor-Umuoji Road Interchange, and the Asaba-Igbuzor Road Interchange, ending at Valley Bridge.

Earlier, Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, praised Governor Soludo for his outstanding leadership and transformative efforts across various sectors, particularly in road infrastructure.

Umahi highlighted that Anambra currently has 18 ongoing federal road projects. These include the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, which has been divided between MTN and another company for efficient execution.

He assured that payments would be linked to work progress, with 30 per cent of the contract sum already disbursed. He urged local communities to support the project and prevent disruptions.

Umahi also reaffirmed Tinubu’s commitment to the South East. He cited key appointments, including the Chief of Naval Staff and the Minister of Works, as evidence of the administration’s dedication.

The contractor, CGC Nigeria Limited, represented by General Manager, Gius Cheng, promised to complete the project on schedule while maintaining the highest quality standards. (NAN)

The upper chamber said that the investigative hearing was to ensure fair and equitable representation across all zones and ethnic groups in appointments, promotions and recruitment.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Sen. Osita Ngwu (PDP-Enugu) at plenary on Tuesday in Abuja.

Ngwu, in the motion entitled: “Urgent need to address systemic abuse and ineffective implementation of federal character principle in Nigeria’s public sector”, said systemic abuse had become a major challenge to achieving balance and equity within Nigeria’s public service.

He said that the challenge was due to limited recruitment opportunities, skewed promotions based solely on years of service and insufficient avenues for worker-mobility outside the public sector.

According to him, the federal character principle mandates fair representation in federal appointments to reflect linguistic, religious and geographic diversity of the country.

Ngwu quoted section 14(3) and (4) of the constitution as stipulating that “no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or sectional groups should exist within the federal government or its agencies.

He said that despite the focus on geographical quotas, imbalances still persisted with some institutions, often relocating problems rather than resolving them, while certain zones remained under-represented.

The senator expressed concern that the process of addressing public sector disparities had been undermined by institutional inertia and lack of accountability.

This, he said, was particularly prevalent in the area of recruitments at senior levels and influenced more by internal preferences than by merit and fairness.

“The quota system has, in many cases, created confusion between merit-based recruitment and equitable state representation, to the detriment of discipline, morale and institutional efficiency,” he said.

The lawmaker said that the constitutional criteria for equitable distribution of employment required that each state contributes its proportionate quota of 2.75 per cent to the national workforce.

“The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) account for 1.00 per cent of the workforce, while catchment areas are to address localised recruitment for junior staff up to 75 per cent of positions,” he said.

He also said that Order 96(27)(b) of the senate rule 2023 and sections 62, 88, 89, 143-(4) of the constitution gave its committee power of legislative oversight on matters relating to implementation and monitoring of policy on federal character.

Ngwu alleged that various federal institutions had consistently failed to adhere to federal character mandates, often by-passing regulations in their recruitment exercises, adding that evidences abound.

He listed some of the agencies to include: Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its subsidiaries like Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

Others, he said, were NAFDAC, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), National Pension Commission (PenCom), Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA).

He also listed Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN),Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) and National Library of Nigeria (NLN) among those flouting the federal character principle.

He said that the contempt emanating from the foregoing, if unchecked, would continually erode efficacy of section 14(d)(e) of the Legislative Houses Powers and Privileges Act, 2017, Part 1(1)-(2) of the Subsidiary Legislation 23 of 1997 and section 11(2) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.

Ngwu expressed concern that the Federal Character Commission (FCC), although constitutionally empowered, remained hindered by chronic underfunding, political interference and limited enforcement capabilities.

The senate, following intense debates from Sens. Abba Moro,(PDP-Benue), Adamu Aliero (PDP-Kebbi), Seriake Dickson (PDP-Bayelsa), Olalere Oyewumi (PDP-Osun), Victor Umeh (LP-Anambra), Anthony Ani (APC- Ebonyi),Adams Oshiomhole (APC-Edo), mandated the committee to turn in its report in three months. (NAN)