PDP Says Supreme Court Judgment Affirms Udeh-Okoye as National Secretary

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has stated that Friday’s Supreme Court judgment, which addressed the position of the party’s National Secretary, affirmed that such matters are entirely internal to the party and fall under the jurisdiction of its own mechanisms, not the courts.

The PDP added that the Supreme Court’s ruling reaffirmed the party’s position and conclusively settled the appointment of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh-Okoye as the substantive National Secretary. Udeh-Okoye was duly nominated, endorsed, and ratified by the PDP’s internal statutory organs in line with the provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017).

In a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, the PDP explained that at its 576th meeting on October 11, 2023, the NWC directed the South East Zonal Executive Committee to nominate a replacement for Senator Samuel Anyanwu, following his nomination as the PDP governorship candidate for the November 2023 election in Imo State.

The South East Zonal Executive Committee, on October 20, 2023, passed a resolution to forward the name of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary. Subsequently, at the NWC’s 577th meeting on November 7, 2023, the committee duly received, deliberated upon, and approved the appointment of Udeh-Okoye, which was also endorsed by other relevant PDP organs, including the Board of Trustees (BoT), the South East Zonal Caucus, the PDP Governors’ Forum, and was officially communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The PDP commended the Supreme Court for upholding the principle of party supremacy in managing its internal affairs, describing the ruling as a victory for democracy.

“The NWC urges all patriotic members of the PDP to remain united as we work together to move our great Party forward,” the statement concluded.