Court stops dissolution of Adamawa PDP Exco

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to stay action on its decision to suspend the Adamawa State Executive Committee.

The court said the action should be halted pending a judicial review of the outcome of the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of August 12.

The order, which was granted by Justice Binta Nyako, was sequel to a suit filed by some of the members of the dissolved executive committee.

The suit with No. FHC/ABJ/CS/909/2017 has Abdulrahman Bobboi, Ziratumba Digwe, Albetha Gangkero and Shehu Baba Jacob as plaintiffs.

The respondents are PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The court order dated October 24, said: “Leave is granted to the applicant for a judicial review of the act of the 1st respondent by way of a certiorari to remove into this honourable court for the purpose of being quashed the decision made by the 1st respondent on the 11th August, 2017 dissolving the executive committee of the 1st respondent in Adamawa State led by the first applicant during the pendency of Suit No. FHC/CS/11/2016 Chief Joel Hamma Joda Madaki & 6 others Vs Senator Ali Modu Sheriff & 9 others”.

The court’s decision was based on the fact that PDP NEC took a decision on the Adamawa executive, a matter pending in court.

The leadership of the PDP led by Mr. Bobboi was already being challenged by the former chairman of the party in the state, Joel Madaki, at a Federal High Court sitting in Yola, the state capital.

Justice Nyako, in her order therefore, asked that the suit filed by Mr. Bobboi and others should also be “remitted to the Yola Division of the Federal High Court best vested with jurisdiction” on the matter.

PDP’s NEC meeting which held at its Wadata Plaza National Secretariat, Abuja had dissolved its executive committees in seven states; Adamawa, Borno, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun and Osun, where parallel and conflicting organs existed when Ahmed Makarfi and Ali Sheriff were contesting the leadership of the party.

The Supreme Court eventually adjudged Mr. Makarfi as the authentic leader of the PDP.

Also, a national convention of the party which held the following day, August 12, mandated the caretaker committee under Mr. Makarfi to organise congresses in those states whose executive committees were dissolved within three months.

The suit filed by Adamawa State executives have now brought to three, the number of suits filed against the decision of the 75th NEC meeting of the PDP.

The South West Zonal Executive and the Ogun State chapter of the party had also gone to court seeking the dissolution of the decisions taken at the NEC and non-elective convention.

One of the lawyers in the firm handling the suit filed by Mr. Bobboi and others, Ahmadu Alhassan, said Mr. Makarfi’s team had been served with the court order through the office of the Special Adviser to the National Chairman on Legal Matters.