Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the embattled National Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has insisted that his recent appearance at the party’s secretariat in Abuja was entirely lawful. This comes after the Court of Appeal affirmed Sunday Ude-Okoye as his official replacement.

Anyanwu spoke to Saturday Telegraph on Friday, reiterating that only the court system can resolve the ongoing dispute within the party. His appearance at the PDP headquarters on Thursday, despite the appellate court’s decision and the support Ude-Okoye has garnered from the party’s key bodies, raised eyebrows.

Ude-Okoye had won the legal battle on December 20, with the court ruling him as the rightful National Secretary of the PDP. Since then, the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the Governors Forum have backed this judgment, as did the party’s National Working Committee during a meeting on Wednesday. Yet, Anyanwu showed up at his desk on Thursday, prompting many to question his actions.

However, Anyanwu remains firm that his decision was lawful. “I went to work to resume duties,” he explained in a phone conversation. When pressed about the legality of his move, Anyanwu clarified that the matter is currently in court, and as per the legal order, the status quo should be maintained until a final ruling is made. He also pointed out that the party’s Governors’ Forum and BoT are not official decision-making bodies within the PDP.

He criticized the party’s governors for their role in perpetuating the crisis, accusing them of attempting to interpret the law in a way that suits their interests. “They know the truth but are trying to maintain the status quo in a manner that fits their agenda,” Anyanwu said.

Anyanwu further rejected the legal opinion offered by the PDP’s National Legal Officer, Kamaldeen Ajibade, which recognized Ude-Okoye’s legitimacy. He argued that the advice was merely an opinion with no legal authority, emphasizing that it had no binding effect.

In response, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, affirmed that the party’s National Working Committee had already made a definitive decision on the matter and that nothing had changed since that time. “Nothing has changed since the National Working Committee meeting,” Ologunagba stated.