A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed has filed a legal petition at the Zamfara High Court, requesting an ex-parte order to hold a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting for the party.
This move directly challenges a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja that prohibits the PDP from dismissing its acting national chairman, Umar Damagum.
The application, which is grounded in several rules from the Federal High Court as well as its inherent jurisdiction, seeks to prevent any delay in the NEC meeting, set to take place on Thursday, October 24, 2024, at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.
The plaintiffs are asking for an interlocutory injunction that would bar the PDP and its officials from postponing the meeting until the main case is resolved.
In the legal motion submitted on Tuesday, the faction emphasizes the importance of the upcoming meeting, insisting that no other NEC meeting held on different dates should be recognized as the 99th NEC Meeting of the PDP.
They are also striving to prevent the PDP’s National Working Committee and other affiliated bodies from recognizing the suspended National Vice Chairman for the South East Zone, Ali Odefa, as either a member or officer of the party during this legal process.
The plaintiffs assert their legitimacy as members of the PDP and stress the significance of the National Working Committee in the party’s daily administration. They argue that the PDP constitution does not empower the National Secretary to impose disciplinary measures on National Officers.
The court is expected to hear the motion on an unspecified date, a decision that could significantly affect the internal dynamics of the PDP as it deals with this legal confrontation.
The faction seeks “an order of Interlocutory Injunction restraining the 1st Defendant, its officers, agents, privies, and/or any person claiming through or under it from postponing its National Executive Committee Meeting already scheduled for Thursday, October 24, 2024, at its National Secretariat in Abuja pending the final hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
Additionally, they are asking for “an order of Interlocutory Injunction restraining the Defendants jointly and severally, their servants, agents, privies, and/or any person or persons,” and “an order of Interlocutory Injunction restraining the National Working Committee and all other organs of the 1st Defendant from recognizing the suspended National Vice Chairman (South East Zone), Mr. Ali Odefa, as a member or National Officer of the 1st Defendant pending the final hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
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