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•Anyanwu taking judiciary on wild goose chase, alleges Ex-national legal adviser

Chuks Okocha and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Zonal Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South-south Zone, Mr George Turnah, has expressed regret over the resignation of a party stalwart and former Technical Adviser to Governor Douye Diri, Jeremiah Owoupele, calling for a reversal of the party’s decline.

This was as a former Legal Adviser of the PDP, Jacob Mark, has criticised Samuel Anyanwu for what he described as the height of abuse of court process in an attempt to evade compliance with the judgment that removed him as PDP National Secretary.

Describing Owoupele’s departure from the party as a significant loss, Turnah stated that his resignation highlighted the discontent and frustration that have permeated the ranks of the party, especially in Bayelsa.

In a statement by his Media Assistant, Kelvin Loveday-Egbo, Turnah, said “Owoupele’s resignation underscores the deep-rooted issues plaguing our party, particularly the ineffective leadership under the current State Working Committee.

“The lack of vision, poor reward systems, and apparent neglect by the party’s leadership in the state have forced dedicated members like Owoupele to seek alternatives.

“His voice represents the sentiments of many young and vibrant pillars of our party, who feel marginalised and disenfranchised. The leadership failure and highhandedness displayed by the current State Working Committee have created an environment of impunity and illegality,” he stated.

According to Turnah, this has directly contributed to the decline of the party’s influence in the state, coupled with the inability to grasp the fundamentals of effective party administration, resulting in a crisis that has hampered  progress and unity.

On his part, Mark, while speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS, yesterday, accused Anyanwu of manipulating the judiciary to prolong his stay in office despite multiple rulings against him.

“To the best of my knowledge, there’s no politician that has taken the judiciary for a very big wild goose ride like Anyanwu has done, has enjoyed over the last few months. All the courts that he has travelled to have given judgment against him, And he has refused to comply with all the judgments.

‘’He started from the High Court, went to the Court of Appeal, wanted a stay of execution, that was not granted. He rushed to the Federal High Court in Abuja and was seeking the same stay of execution using another case. Luckily, this time around, the court refused to grant him that application, insisting that he should put the other parties on notice.

‘’I think the matter was adjourned to this week or next week. He still went to the Supreme Court and filed the same application, seeking a stay of execution on the judgment of the Court of Appeal. 

“And for me, that is the height of abuse of a court process. Because every lawyer, at least worth his salt, knows that when there is a declaratory judgment, you don’t go looking for stay of execution. And I feel sorry for him.”