Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from removing Umar Damagum as the acting National Chairman of the party.

The court ordered that no other person must be recognised as PDP national chairman other than Damagum until the national convention of the party scheduled for December next year.

Justice Lifu issued the restraining order against the PDP NEC, BoT, and others while delivering judgment in a suit instituted against them by Senator Umar El-Gash Maina.

The judge held that in line with Articles 42, 47, and 67 of PDP, it is only at the national convention of the party that national officers can be elected.

In the suit, Justice Lifu said that PDP members are bound by the constitution of the party and as such must always act in line with the provisions and obedience to the party’s law

The plaintiff, who claimed to be chairman of PDP in Yobe State, had instituted the suit against PDP and eight others alleging that some stakeholders of the party have been holding clandestine meetings to forcefully remove Damagum from office in gross violation of the party’s constitution.

He said that a former deputy governor of Kogi State, Phillip Salawu, was being pushed forward as a replacement for Damagun by the stakeholders.

Maina claimed that upon becoming aware of the plan, two separate letters complaining against the clandestine meetings were delivered to the national secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu, and that despite the acknowledgment of the two letters, the national secretary and BoT members have never deemed it fit to act on the letters and their claims.

In the suit instituted on his behalf by Joshua Musa who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the plaintiff therefore prayed the court to invoke articles 45, 47, and 67 of the PDP Constitution to stop the move to replace Damagum as the acting national chairman.

The plaintiff specifically asked the court to declare that the national chairmanship of the PDP is rotated between the north and south regions and not through any other procedure not enshrined in the PDP’s Constitution.

In his judgment after perusing the PDP’s Constitution and exhibits, Justice Lifu agreed with the plaintiff that Damagum can only be replaced at the national convention of PDP or through an order of a court.

Justice Lifu also held that any attempt to truncate the un-exhausted four-year tenure of the northern region without the national convention of the party would amount to an affront to the Constitution of the PDP.

Earlier, the judge had dismissed the opposition of the defendants to the suit on the grounds that the plaintiff had no locus standi to bring out the case and that the court lacked jurisdiction.

Justice Lifu held that the plaintiff predicated his suit on the protection of the PDP Constitution from being violated and the northern region where he hailed from being shortchanged from the four-year tenure.

Justice Lifu said that the plaintiff having displayed his PDP membership card before the court and having raised the fundamental issue of protection of PDP’s Constitution had sufficient interest and justiciable cause to institute the case.

By Eric Elezuo

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has suspended its Acting National Chairman, Amb Illiya Umar Damagum and the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, for anti-party activities.

The party revealed its decision to suspend the duo in a press statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, and made available to The Boss Newspaper.

The statement noted that the Acting National Chairman, who has been facing legitimacy crisis, and his Secretary, were found culpable with regard to the “letter addressed by them to the Court of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/PH/307/2024 against the Party’s position in the case involving the 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who vacated their seats upon decamping from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).”

While condemning the act, the party invoked Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the PDP Constitution, and suspended the officers, referring them to the National Disciplinary Committee.

The two officers are therefore, barred from attending the NWC’s meetings, activities and programmes, according to the statement.

Read the statement in full:

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP has extensively considered the series of complaints raised against the Acting National Chairman, Amb. Illiya Damagum and National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu particularly with regard to the letter addressed by them to the Court of Appeal in Appeal No:CA/PH/307/2024 against the Party’s position in the case involving the 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who vacated their seats upon decamping from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The NWC condemned this anti-party activity of the Acting National Chairman and the National Secretary which is in gross violation of the provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017) and their Oath of Office.

Consequently, the NWC, pursuant to Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the PDP Constitution, has suspended Amb. Illiya Damagum and Sen. Samuel Anyanwu as Acting National Chairman and National Secretary of the Party respectively and referred them to the National Disciplinary Committee for further action.

In the meantime, the two officials are suspended from all meetings, activities and programs of the NWC pending the conclusion of investigation by the National Disciplinary Committee.

The Court of Appeal has upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court, affirming Martins Amaehwule as the rightful Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Recall that the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, had challenged the judgement of Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja, which affirmed Amaehwule’s leadership.

This ruling is a victory for the camp of former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, who has been at odds with Governor Fubara.

Governor Fubara has also been ordered to re-present the 2024 budget to the Amaehwule-led House of Assembly.