Controversy Trails PDP Congress in Katsina 

• Faction asks court to stop exercise 

Francis Sardauna in Katsina 

Controversy has trailed the conduct of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) ward, local and state congresses in Katsina State over prevailing leadership tussle that has resulted in two factions of the party in the state.

A faction, led by the former Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Mustapha Mohammed Inuwa, has filed a suit before the state High Court, asking the court to restrain the party from conducting the congresses over their inability to access forms for the exercise. 

Despite the court injunction, another faction, led by Senator Yakubu Lado, the 2023 governorship candidate of the party, conducted the ward congress across the 361 political wards of the state on July 27, 2024.

The Lado faction also conducted local government congress on Saturday in 34 local government areas of the state, while the Inuwa faction shunned the exercise, awaiting the court verdict on their suit.

THISDAY, which monitored the Saturday exercise in Rimi, Charanchi, Kurfi, Katsina and Batagarawa Local Government Areas, reports that the congress was conducted peacefully with supervision by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security personnel.

Conducting the local government congress in Rimi, the PDP caretaker Chairman for Katsina Zone, Tijjani Umar, feigned ignorance of any court order restricting the party from conducting congresses in the state.

He said: “We conducted ward congress two weeks ago, and today being the 10th of August, 2024, we conducted the local government congress in Rimi where we elected 18 local government excos and national delegates.

“We are aware of a court case, but we have not received any court order restricting us from conducting the congresses. It is an in-house issue that will be resolved amicably by God’s grace.”