Court restrains PDP national leadership from dissolving Rivers PDP exco

 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national body has been prohibited from axing the Rivers State Executive Committee over alleged anti-party activities

In his ruling, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja stated that he had concluded that the plaintiff’s case, Mr. Desmond Akawo, the chairman of the state excos, had merit.

The PDP and its national chairman were found not to have refuted Akawo’s allegations, according to Justice Ekwo.

The judge, who granted all of Akawo’s requests for relief, ruled that the state’s excos, which were duly elected to serve terms of four years, cannot be unilaterally dissolved by the party or its national chairman without a good reason.

Additionally, until May 22, 2024, he issued an injunction prohibiting them from appointing any individual or group of individuals as a temporary caretaker committee in the state.

Furthermore, Justice Ekwo issued an injunction order preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or accepting any names as the caretaker committee of the PDP in the state other than those legitimately elected and represented by Akawo in the lawsuit.

Akawo had sued the party and Dr Iyorchia Ayu (the immediate-past National Chairman representing himself and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC)) as 1st and 2nd defendants.

In light of Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 47(1) of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017), he had asked the court to rule on whether they were ineligible to hold office.

The PDP chieftain claimed that he and the other members of the exco, the local government area executive committees, and the ward executive committee were chosen and sworn-in in accordance with the state congress held on March 21, 2020, and were thus entitled to finish the four-year term that ends on or around May 22, 2024.

In the affidavit which he personally deposed to, Akawo said that the PDP and its national chairman on Jan. 4, prior to the general elections, threatened to unilaterally dissolve the Rivers’ chapter of SEC and replace the same with an Interim Caretaker Committee.

He, however, said that prior to the threat, neither any member of the state committee nor himself had ever been queried by them.

He, therefore, sought an order of injunction restraining the party and the national chairman from dissolving, suspending, or truncating the tenure of the Rivers’ SEC, the LGA executive committees, and the ward executive committees until May 22, 2024, when their four-year term would expire, among other reliefs.