By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Appeal Court sitting in Enugu on Friday sacked Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Secretary and declared Rt. Hon. Ude Okoye as the substantive national secretary.

Okoye is to complete the remaining tenure created by the automatic vacancy in the office when Anyanwu left as the national secretary to run for governorship election in lmo State.

The Appeal Court affirmed the judgement of the High Court in Enugu which earlier on had sacked Anyawu as PDP National Secretary and upheld the nomination by South East PDP Executives, which nominated Ude Okoye as replacement to Anyawu as PDP Secretary.

The Court In a lead Judgement delivered by Justice Ridwan Abdullahi described Anyawu?s claim to PDP secretaryship despite contesting election as PDP governorship candidate as a grave violation of the party constitution and declared that his Appeal against the lower court judgement lacked merit.

Reacting to the development, Opposition Lawmakers Coalition hailed the judgment as described it as dawn of a new era in PDP and end to the shameless politics of sabotage, betrayal, political materialism and sellout which Anyawu represents.

According to the opposition lawmakers, the acting PDP National chairman, Umar Damagum who is in same shameless boat with Anyanwu in the agenda to kill opposition is next.

In a statement signed by their spokesman, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, the lawmakers described the judgment as the beginning to the end of Damagum/Anyanwu?s evil politics against PDP.

He noted that they are in full support of the judgment, pledging loyalty to Ude Okoye as the substantive national secretary.

He said: ?We want to salute the courage of the Appeal Court to have ended this madness by first of all upholding the judgment of Enugu State High Court that recognizes the decision of South East PDP leaders that nominated Ude Okoye as substantive national secretary to complete the remaining tenure created by the vacancy in the office by the resignation of Samuel Anyanwu as the National secretary when he went to run for governorship.

?The Appeal Court has restated the principle of PDP constitution that anyone elected to the executive committee of the party at any level may resign his or her office by giving 30 days? notice in writing to the executive committee, except in cases of vying for an elective office which shall be effective within the period stipulated by NEC. The law has said that you should resign. When you choose to run for the election, you have chosen to resign.?

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