A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Monday declared that the May 21, 2016 National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was duly constituted, declaring that the dissolution of the National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee by that convention were valid.
Counsel to the PDP, Dejo Lamikanra, SAN, addressing journalists
after the judgment of Justice Abdullahi Liman of the Federal High Court
on Monday in Port Harcourt.
In his judgment on the suit filed by the PDP against
Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and others, Justice Abdullahi Liman declared that the
appointment of the Caretaker Committee of the PDP to oversee its affairs was
legal and in line with the provisions of the PDP constitution.
Justice Liman said that Article 31 (1) of the PDP
constitution vested the powers to convene a national convention on the National
Executive Committee of the party. The court held that pursuant to the
constitution of the party, the former Acting National Chairman had no powers to
unilaterally postpone the properly constituted national convention on a day all
delegates had converged on Port Harcourt, the host city.
He described the action of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as
most unconscionable , pointing out that the former Acting National Chairman
participated in all the processes leading to the National Convention, only to
make a u-turn at the final minute after he was screened and disqualified.
The court ruled that after Sheriff was disqualified
following his screening, the only option that was left to Senator Sheriff was
to have gone to the venue of the National Convention to seek the opinion of
delegates whether they were prepared to go on with the convention or not.
According to Justice Liman, the absence of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff from the
convention did not visible from the process as his powers were not usurped. The
court declared that under Article 35 (b) of the PDP constitution , in the
absence of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman was empowered to preside over the
National Convention.
It therefore ruled that the May 21st, 2016 PDP National
Convention was properly constituted and the decisions taken at the convention,
valid. The Federal High Court further ruled that in line with Article 33 (2) of
the PDP constitution, the National Convention of the party is supreme and can exercise
the powers to dissolve the National Working Committee and the National
Executive Committee of the party.
On the issue of the abuse of court process claimed by the
Former National Acting Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, the court held that
the plaintiffs in the case in question are not the same in the cases mentioned
by the defendants, noting that the plaintiffs suit only centred on the National
Convention.
The court noted that five days to the National
Convention, the Former Acting National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff had
through his counsel's dissociated himself from one of the suits they filed via
proxies. Justice Liman emphasised that there was no suit challenging the
conduct of the National Convention in Port Harcourt and that no injunction
sought to stop the convention.
Addressing journalists after the judgment, Counsel to the
PDP, Dejo Lamikanra (SAN) said that the judgment settles all the contending
issues concerning the PDP. He said with the judgement, the decision of the
National Convention to appoint a Caretaker Committee stands and that Senator
Ali Modu Sheriff was duly sacked.
In his remarks, Secretary of the Caretaker Committee,
Senator Ben Obi declared that the Caretaker Committee will now settle down to
carry out the responsibility bestowed on it by the National Convention. Counsel
to Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, Mr John Martins Abu commended the court for its
judgment.
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