The board of trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has backed Sunday Ude-Okoye as national secretary of the party.

 

The BoT’s decision is contained in a communique issued after a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.

 

The development comes less than a week after the governors elected on the PDP platform recognised Ude-Okoye as the scribe of the party.

 

BACKGROUND

The PDP is embroiled in a fresh leadership crisis as both Samuel Anyanwu and Ude-Okoye are laying claim to the position of national secretary.

 

In December 2024, the court of appeal ruled that Ude-Okoye should replace Anyanwu as the PDP national secretary.

 

The south-east zonal executive committee of the party nominated Udeh-Okoye to replace Anyanwu after he became the PDP gubernatorial candidate in Imo state in 2023.

 

Anyanwu had obtained several court injunctions preventing his removal from office.

 

However, in a verdict delivered on December 20, 2024, Ridwan Abdullahi, the appeal court judge, dismissed the judgment of the high court, which prevented Anyanwu’s removal, for “lacking in merit”.

 

Following the judgment, Ude-Okoye has been parading himself as the national secretary of the party.

 

But Anyanwu said he appealed the judgment and also filed for a stay of execution at the supreme court same day the appeal court delivered the verdict in favour of Ude-Okoye.

 

DECISION OF THE BoT

At its last meeting on January 29, the BoT constituted a panel to resolve the dispute concerning the party’s national secretary position.

 

Kabiru Turaki, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former minister of special duties, was named chairman of the panel and was expected to advise the BoT on who to recognise as the party’s scribe.

 

Reading the communique after the meeting on Wednesday, Adolphus Wabara, chairman of BoT, said the panel recommended Ude-Okoye as the authentic secretary of the party, adding that the report has been adopted.

 

“Consequently, the BoT by adopting the report recognizes Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the substantive National Secretary of the PDP in full obedience to the declaratory Judgment of the High Court of Enugu as also upheld by the Court of Appeal there being no contrary or overriding judgment from any Court of superior jurisdiction,” the communique reads.

 

The BoT asked the national working committee (NWC) to “recognise and immediately” swear Udeh-Okoye as the party’s national secretary.

 

The BoT urged all party organs, stakeholders, leaders and members across the country “to be guided by the judgment of the court of appeal with regard to the position of the national secretary of the PDP”.