The Supreme Court on Friday settled the protracted leadership tussle between Senator Chris Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye over who between them is the authentic scribe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when it reversed the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court which earlier sacked Anyanwu as the national secretary of the PDP.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Jamilu Tukur, the court held that matters relating to the leadership or membership of a political party fall strictly within the party’s internal affairs and should not be the business of the court.
“The exceptional circumstances that would have given jurisdiction for the court to decide on the internal affairs of a political party were missing,” Judge Tukur held.
According to the court, such exceptional circumstances include if the Nigerian Constitution grants the judiciary jurisdiction over the matter, if a crime has been committed or if there is a violation of contractual rights.
With none of these conditions being the case, the court ruled against Anyanwu’s sacking.