On Thursday, March 13, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) urged the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court to recuse itself from the ongoing case involving Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who is challenging his removal as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a counter-affidavit filed in opposition to Anyanwu’s suit, INEC argued that it would be in the interest of justice for all parties to await the outcome of an appeal on the matter, which is currently pending before the Supreme Court.
In a 10-paragraph affidavit, Mohammed Ayuba, deposed on behalf of INEC, stated that any correspondence between INEC and political parties must be signed by both the National Chairman and National Secretary of the respective parties, in line with its regulations. The electoral body also explained that it had deliberately refrained from commenting on Anyanwu’s legal action.
INEC further argued that the court’s jurisdiction is not applicable to matters concerning the internal affairs of political parties.
During the proceedings, counsel to INEC, Ahmed Mohammed, drew the court’s attention to the counter-affidavit filed on March 7, 2025. Other defendants in the case also indicated that they had filed preliminary objections questioning the competence of Anyanwu’s suit.
Udeh-Okoye Enemchukwu, who has been endorsed by the PDP as Anyanwu’s replacement, told the court that all parties had already submitted their briefs to the Supreme Court. He insisted that Anyanwu ceased to be the PDP National Secretary following judgments from both the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Enugu.
Enemchukwu, the 4th defendant, explained that although Anyanwu was elected at the party’s National Convention on October 30, 2021, for a four-year tenure, he lost the position after being nominated as the PDP candidate for the 2023 Imo State governorship election. He pointed out that the PDP Constitution requires any officer elected to the party’s Executive Committee to resign before contesting for an elective office, and that Anyanwu failed to vacate his office, prompting the PDP Board of Trustees to notify the National Chairman of the constitutional breach in a letter dated October 12, 2023.
