Court Bars PDP NEC, BoT from Removing Damagum As Acting National Chairman

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Justice Peter Lifu of a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, restrained the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from removing Ambassador Umar Ilya Damagum as the Acting National Chairman of the party.

Justice Lifu, in a judgment held that by the constitution of the PDP, having come from the same region as the former National Chairman, Senator Iyorcha Ayu, the acting chairman is entitled to serve out the remaining four-year term of Ayu, who resigned as PDP’s chairman last year.

A chairman of the PDP in Yobe State, Umar El-Gash Maina, had dragged the NEC, BoT and eight others to court over alleged plans to illegally remove Damagum as acting chairman of the PDP.

The plaintiff claimed that two separate letters complaining against clandestine meetings were delivered to the National Secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and that despite the acknowledgment of the two letters, the national secretary and other members have never deemed it fit to act on the letters and their claims.

Maina, through his lawyer, Mr Joshua Musa (SAN), therefore prayed the court to invoke Article 45, 47 and 67 of the PDP’s Constitution to stop the move to replace Damagum as Acting National Chairman.

He specifically asked the court to declare that the national chairmanship of PDP is rotated between the north and south and not by any other procedure not enshrined in the PDP’s laws.

Delivering judgment, Justice Lifu agreed with the plaintiff that Damagum can only be replaced after the national convention of the PDP or through an order of a court.

Justice Lifu also held that any attempt to truncate the unexhausted four years tenure of the northern region without the national convention of the party will amount to an affront to the constitution of the PDP.

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

The judge held that in line with Article 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 marked: FHC/ABJ/ CS/579/2024, Justice Lifu said that PDP members are bound by the c

onstitution of the party and as such must always act in line with the provisions and obedience to the party’s law.