Court dismisses Sam Anyanwu’s suit seeking recognition as PDP national secretary

The federal high court in Abuja has dismissed a suit instituted by Samuel Anyanwu seeking recognition as the national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mohammed Umar, the presiding judge, dismissed the suit on Tuesday after U. C. Njemanze‑Aku, Anyanwu’s lawyer, told the court that his client’s tenure as PDP’s national secretary expired in December 2025.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025, Anyanwu had asked the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Umar Damagum, the PDP chairman at the time, from accepting, acting on, or giving effect to any correspondence from the party not signed by him.

When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, Anyanwu’s lawyer said the matter had been overtaken by events and should not proceed.

“In the interest of justice, I apply to withdraw this matter to save the time of the court,” he said.

Akintayo Balogun, INEC’s counsel, said the suit ought not to have been instituted in the first instance.

Balogun asked the court to dismiss the suit with a cost of N1 million.

M. O. Akpan, Damagum’s lawyer, adopted Balogun’s submission.

After hearing arguments from all parties, the judge dismissed the suit without awarding any costs.

“Since you have joined issues, I am going to dismiss this matter. The matter is hereby dismissed,” he ruled.

The PDP national secretary position was the subject of litigation, with Anyanwu, Sunday Udeh-Okoye, and Setonji Koshoedo laying claim to the office.

In December, a faction of the PDP, backed by Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), dissolved the national working committee (NWC) and set up a caretaker panel.

Abdulrahman Mohammed was appointed as the chairman, with Anyanwu as secretary.

The caretaker panel was constituted following the expiration of the tenure of the PDP NWC elected in October 2021.

In November, a faction of the party backed by the PDP governors, including Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, and Seyi Makinde of Oyo, held a convention and elected new NWC members, with Kabiru Turaki as chairman.

During the convention, the PDP expelled Wike and his allies, including Ayodele Fayose, former governor of Oyo, and Anyanwu, Bature, and Ajibade, among others.

The Wike group rejected the expulsion and formed a parallel NWC, board of trustees (BoT), and NEC.

In a tit-for-tat, the Wike faction also expelled members of the Makinde faction.