PDP shuns court order, appoints Kosheodo as acting national secretary

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has appointed Setoji Kosheodo as its acting national secretary.

Umar Damagum, acting national chairman of the PDP, announced Kosheodo’s appointment at the end of the party’s national working committee (NWC) meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday.

Until his appointment, Koshoedo was the PDP deputy national secretary.

Damagum said Kosheodo would serve in an acting capacity until all court issues are resolved.

“Since there are conflicting court orders, we urged the two sides to stand down and we have agreed and appointed the deputy national secretary to continue to act as secretary pending the time we will resolve all the issues — the conflicting court orders and resolutions of the south-east,” Damagum said.

“So there is no conflict and we are together and thinking together on this issue.”

The appointment of the acting national secretary of the PDP violates a court order mandating the opposition party to recognise Sunday Udeh-Okoye as its national secretary.

THE CONTROVERSY

In April, Samuel Anyanwu, the then-PDP national secretary, became a gubernatorial candidate of the party in the Imo off-cycle governorship election which was held on November 11.

Subsequently, some party stakeholders, including Adolphus Wabara, acting chairman of the PDP board of trustees (BoT), asked Anyanwu to resign as the national secretary on the ground that he has become a governorship candidate.

But Nyesom Wike, minister of federal capital territory (FCT), countered Wabara, saying he did not have the authority to declare who could occupy the office of national secretary of the party.

On October 20, the south-east zonal executive committee of the PDP nominated Udeh-Okoye to replace Anyanwu as the national secretary.

The south-east PDP said that it would be a distraction for Anyanwu to continue as the national secretary while being standard-bearer for the PDP in Imo.

COURT ORDERS

On October 23, a federal high court in Enugu ordered the PDP NWC to recognise Udeh-Okoye as the party’s national secretary.

Cyprian Ajah, the judge, granted the interim order directing that the PDP should recognise Udeh-Okoye as its national secretary within 24 hours.

On October 24, the PDP, Damagun and Anyawu filed a motion asking the court to set aside the order, arguing that “it was obtained by fraud and suppression of material facts”.

On November 7, the court affirmed the interim order, directing the PDP to acknowledge Udeh-Okoye as its national secretary.

On November 14, a high court of the federal capital territory (FCT) banned Anyawu from parading himself as the party’s national secretary.

Anyawu was defeated by Hope Uzodinma, the incumbent governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Imo governorship election on Saturday.