The Supreme Court, on Friday, restored Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, vacated the concurrent verdicts of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal in Enugu, which sacked him from office.

In the lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur, the apex court held that the two lower courts were bereft of the jurisdiction to dabble into domestic affairs of a political party that was not justiciable.

Consequently, the Supreme Court panel affirmed the minority judgement of the appellate court which nullified the decision of the trial court on account of lack of jurisdiction.

More so, the apex court held that the plaintiff, Mr. Aniagu Emmanuel,whose suit led to Anyanwu’s removal from office, lacked the locus standi (legal right) to institute the action.

It held that the plaintiff failed to establish how he was affected by who occupied the office of the National Secretary of PDP.

The appellate court had in a judgement it delivered last December, upheld the High Court verdict that sacked Senator Anyanwu and recognized Chief Udeh-Okoye Enemchukwu as the authentic national scribe of the party.

In its lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Ridwan Abdullahi, the appellate court dismissed as incompetent and lacking in merit, Anyanwu’s bid to upturn the decision of the high court.

The court held that Anyanwu’s continued stay in office as National Secretary was in breach of PDP’s Constitution, having contested and emerged as the party’s candidate in the governorship election that held in Imo State last year.

However, dissatisfied with the concurrent judgements of the two courts, Anyanwu approached the Supreme Court to set them aside.

Aside from his substantive appeal, he equally filed a motion for accelerated hearing and for the abridgment of time within which the matter would be determined, citing the crucial role of the office of National Secretary in the affairs of the political party.

It will be recalled that both the Board of Trustees, BOT, and the National Working Committee, NWC, of the PDP, had earlier endorsed Chief Okoye as the National Secretary of the party, in line with the subsisting court judgements.

Anyanwu outrightly rejected the decisions, insisting that the position was the subject of a pending litigation.

Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has strongly criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, describing it as a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s democracy.

In a statement released on Thursday, Kwankwaso expressed deep concern over the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and all elected state legislators, calling the move a clear overreach of executive power.

Reflecting on his experience in the 1992/93 National Assembly, Kwankwaso warned against repeating past mistakes, where lawmakers were preoccupied with internal power struggles instead of safeguarding democratic institutions.

“I have closely followed developments in Rivers State in the past two days, and my initial silence was informed by the desire to let the authorities and parties in the conflict do what is right,” he stated.

However, he said he was perturbed by Tinubu’s unilateral decision to remove elected officials from office, stressing that such an action violates the constitution and undermines democracy.

Kwankwaso accused the 10th National Assembly of failing to uphold democratic principles and acting as a rubber stamp for executive excesses.

“The legislature has the responsibility to hold the executive accountable, not always play to its tune. It is appalling to see this 10th Assembly become more of a rubber stamp than any of its predecessors,” he said.

He further condemned the manner in which the National Assembly approved the state of emergency, arguing that using a voice vote on such a critical issue lacked transparency and undermined due process.

The former Kano governor also called on the judiciary to uphold its independence, urging judges to resist external influence and deliver fair and just rulings.

“Our judiciary must wake up to its responsibility of calming nerves by delivering judgments devoid of any hint of external influence,” he said.

Kwankwaso warned that President Tinubu’s actions could set a dangerous precedent for opposition-led states, creating fear and uncertainty about federal interference.

“This proclamation and the subsequent pronouncements by the Attorney General of the Federation have now sent numerous people in opposition-led states into disarray. It sets a dangerous precedent for how the Head of State can tighten his grip on states that do not share the same political standing with the center,” he warned.

He also criticized the involvement of the military, stating that Tinubu, as a longtime advocate of democracy, should understand the dangers of reintroducing military influence into governance.

“For a politician who prides himself as a defender of democracy, drafting the military into a position of leadership is dangerous to the progress we have made in the past 26 years,” he noted.

He further reminded Tinubu of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s efforts to keep the military confined to their barracks, warning that reversing this trend could have long-term consequences.

Kwankwaso concluded by urging the federal government to reconsider its actions, emphasizing that the political situation in Rivers did not warrant such drastic measures.

“I am of the view that the political situation on the ground in Rivers does not justify such a flawed interpretation of Section 305(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

“This action constitutes an unconstitutional overreach, and if unchecked, it could foster a culture of impunity,” he warned.

[DailyTrust]

There are indications that the Federal Government’s Naira-for-crude panel will be reconvening a meeting on Monday to consider continuation of the crude sales deal with Dangote Refinery amid petroleum products price uncertainty.

Reliable sources in the Ministries of Petroleum Resources and Finance, who preferred anonymity, made this known on Thursday.

This comes after Dangote Refinery on Wednesday announced the suspension of its petroleum products sales in Naira.

Dangote Refinery’s decision to suspend petrol product sales in Naira indicated that there is a stalemate in discussion between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Dangote Refinery over the continuation of the Naira-for-crude sale contract.

However, official sources familiar with the matter told DAILY POST that the scheme may continue.

It was confirmed that NNPCL faced a crude availability crisis following the fact that the state-owned firm had pre-sold large volumes to foreign creditors under its crude-backed loans.

“The scheme won’t end. The challenging point is the issue of crude availability, with NNPC claiming it has pre-sold large volumes of crude.

“The committee agreed to reconvene on Monday (next week) to review options that the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has been mandated to come up with. The committee is trying to dimension solution options,” the official stated.

Recall that the committee last week met at the Ministry of Finance Headquarters in Abuja to assess developments and reaffirm commitments to the naira-for-crude policy framework.

The meeting had in attendance the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun (who joined virtually); the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr. Zacch Adedeji; the Chief Financial Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company; the Executive Commissioner of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (who also joined virtually); and other stakeholders.

Reacting to the development, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, said its members will not hesitate to seek alternative sources of petroleum products.

“The market is making preparations for any surprises. So, if there are surprises, we’ll have alternatives to go to,” he said.

On his part, the president of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola, appealed for government intervention in the continuation of the Naira-for-crude policy in order to maintain the tempo of the petrol price template.

“I would like to advise the FG to look into the agreement with Dangote again to maintain the tempo of the prices of petroleum products,” he said.

[DailyPost]