Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order restraining the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governors, its National Working Committee (NWC), and the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) from dissolving the executive committees of the party in Rivers State.
The ruling, delivered on Wednesday, also prevents the PDP from establishing any interim committees to replace the current executives at the state, local government, and ward levels, all of whom are aligned with the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike.
This decision came in response to an ex-parte application filed by Aaron Chukwuemeka, the Chairman of the PDP Rivers State Executive Committee, along with his counterparts at the local government and ward levels. The application, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1396/2024, was presented on behalf of the executive committees.
In their suit, the plaintiffs—Chukwuemeka, Oye Fubara Igenewari, and ThankGod Bekee—claimed that the defendants were making secretive moves to dissolve the legitimately constituted executive committees in Rivers State and replace them with interim bodies. They also named several high-ranking party officials, including PDP’s Acting National Chairman Umar Damagun, National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, and members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and BoT, among others, as defendants.
Arguing on behalf of the plaintiffs, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Dr. Joshua Musa alleged that these efforts were an attempt to sideline the legally elected executives, which could lead to significant losses and injustice for his clients.
After reviewing the evidence presented, Justice Lifu ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to refrain from recognizing any individuals or groups that were not duly elected in the PDP’s state, local government, and ward elections in Rivers State.
The judge further ruled that the tenure of the existing executive committees in Rivers State, at all levels, should not be disrupted. He instructed the PDP’s national leadership and other relevant bodies not to interfere with the positions of these officials, who were reportedly elected during party congresses earlier this year.
Additionally, Justice Lifu mandated that the plaintiffs submit an undertaking to compensate the defendants should it later be determined that the court’s restraining orders were issued in error.
The case has been adjourned for a hearing on the motion on notice, scheduled for October 4, 2024.
