Court Sacks PDP Executives in Rivers
Barikui Felix- Port Harcourt
A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt on Monday nullified the 2024 ward, local government, and state congresses of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, conducted in the state.
The court also restrained the executives who emerged from Congress from acting as executive members of the PDP in Rivers state.
Justice Stephen Jumbo gave the order while ruling on an interlocutory injunction following a suit instituted by Victor Ere, Senator Denton West, Solomon Eke, Monday Dumiye, and 21 others who are members of the PDP against the party’s National Chairman, state chairman, Aaron Chukwuemeka, and nine others.
Recall that the court had earlier reserved to give a ruling today, the 13th of January, after hearing arguments from both parties in the substantive suit.
The applicants had prayed to the court for an order of Interlocutory Injunction to set aside and nullify the Congresses conducted in the 319 ward, 23 local government Areas, and the state structure of PDP in Rivers State.
The congress, which was conducted on July 27, August 10, and August 31, 2024, respectively, was said to have been organized despite subsisting court injunctions stopping the process.
The applicants are also claiming that the congresses were conducted in flagrant disobedience to the order of Rivers State High Court issued on July 16, 2024, which stopped the PDP and National Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, their agents, servants, and privies from conducting congresses pending the hearing and determination of the originating summons already filed.
They are also seeking an order of the court granting that they, as the claimants/applicants, are the authentic and subsisting members of the state executive committee of PDP and that the court should direct the PDP and its National leadership to recognize and deal with the applicants accordingly.
After listening to the presentations, the presiding judge granted all the applicants’ prayers and restrained Chukwuemeka and others from acting as party members.
