The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the Supreme Court by its judgment in the disputed national secretary position has affirmed former National Youth Leader, Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the authentic scribe of the party.
In a statement on Friday, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said that the apex court’s ruling reinforces the principle that leadership decisions within political parties are internal matters beyond judicial interference.
He said Okoye’s emergence as National Secretary was in line with party regulations.
Ologunagba stated that following the nomination of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the PDP’s governorship candidate for the November 2023 election in Imo State, the NWC, at its 576th meeting on October 11, 2023, directed the South East Zonal Executive Committee to nominate a replacement.
“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 substantiative 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),” the party said.
“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.
“Accordingly, the NWC at its 577th meeting held on 7th of November 2023 pursuant to its powers under the PDP Constitution, duly received, deliberated upon, accepted and approved the emergence of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye as the National Secretary of the Party, which appointment has also since been endorsed by relevant Organs and bodies of the PDP including the Board of Trustees (BoT), South East Zonal Caucus, the PDP Governors’ Forum and officially communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the general public.”
