A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday formally dismissed the suit filed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu regarding the contested office of the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The ruling effectively terminates a year-long legal battle that has significantly contributed to the leadership crisis within Nigeria’s main opposition party.
The court’s decision followed an application for withdrawal submitted by Anyanwu’s legal team during the resumed hearing. His counsel, U. C. Njemanze-Aku, informed the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, that the suit had been overtaken by events following the party’s recent national convention and administrative changes. In response, the court struck out the matter, ending Anyanwu’s judicial bid to retain the secretariat’s top administrative role.
The dispute originated in late 2023 when the South East zonal executive of the PDP nominated Sunday Udeh-Okoye to replace Anyanwu, arguing that the latter had vacated the office to contest the Imo State governorship election. Despite a Supreme Court ruling in March 2025 that briefly favored Anyanwu on jurisdictional grounds, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and the Board of Trustees (BoT) maintained their recognition of a new leadership structure.
The crisis reached a peak in late 2025 during the PDP National Convention in Ibadan, where Anyanwu was expelled alongside several high-profile members for alleged anti-party activities. The convention also saw the election of a new set of national officers, including Taofeek Arapaja as the substantive National Secretary, further isolating Anyanwu’s faction.
With this legal dismissal, the PDP leadership is now cleared of the remaining judicial hurdles preventing the full handover of the National Secretary’s office. Party insiders indicate that this development will allow the NWC to focus on internal reconciliation and strategic planning ahead of the 2027 general elections, effectively closing a chapter of internal litigation that had paralyzed the party’s Wadata Plaza headquarters for months.
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