A Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria, has issued an injunction on Wednesday, preventing the national body of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from dissolving the Rivers’ chapter of the State Executive Committee (SEC) based on alleged anti-party activities.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, delivered the verdict, stating that he found merit in the case presented by Mr. Desmond Akawo, the Rivers’ PDP Chairman and plaintiff in the matter.
The lawsuit named the PDP itself and Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, the immediate-past National Chairman, who represented both himself and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC), as the 1st and 2nd defendants, respectively. Additionally, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was listed as the third defendant.
At the heart of the case was Akawo’s query regarding the entitlement of the SEC, LGA executive committees, and ward executive committees to complete their four-year term. These committees were elected and sworn in following the state’s congress held on March 21, 2020, and were due to serve until approximately May 22, 2024, as per Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 47(1) of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).
Akawo, in his affidavit, affirmed that prior to the PDP’s threat to dissolve the Rivers’ SEC and replace it with an Interim Caretaker Committee, neither he nor any other member of the state committee had been queried.
The relief sought by Akawo included an injunction restraining the party and the national chairman from dissolving, suspending, or truncating the tenure of the Rivers’ SEC, LGA executive committees, and ward executive committees until May 22, 2024.
Justice Ekwo’s ruling held that the PDP and its national chairman had not denied Akawo’s averments. He stated, “Essentially, the 1st and 2nd defendants have admitted the case of the plaintiff on this issue,” underlining the legal principle that admitted facts require no further proof.
As a result, the judge granted all of Akawo’s reliefs, including a declaration that the party and its national chairman could not unilaterally dissolve the state’s EXCOs, which were democratically elected to serve a four-year term. He issued an injunction order preventing them from appointing any person or group as an interim caretaker committee in the state until May 22, 2024.
Furthermore, Justice Ekwo’s ruling included an injunction order restraining INEC from recognising or accepting any name as the caretaker committee of the PDP in the state, except those democratically elected and represented by Akawo in the suit. This decision secured a significant legal victory for the Rivers’ PDP Chairman and the state’s executive committee.
