GOVERNORS VS JUSTICE: THE ONGOING ILLEGALITIES IN THE PDP
The Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Illiya Damagum, has consistently urged the National Working Committee to exercise patience and await the legal opinion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the judgement of Supreme Court regarding the National Secretaryship issue. His plea was not born out of indecision but out of a deep understanding that hasty actions could plunge the party into a quagmire of legal and political mistakes. Regrettably, some members of the NWC, backed by certain PDP Governors with selfish desires, chose to ignore this wise counsel, opting instead to force the party down a path of illegality.
If we are to ask, why are these Governors in such a hurry to act? Just today (March 13, 2025), INEC lawyer informed a Federal High Court Abuja that they are awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling on the PDP National Secretaryship. That was a prudent and logical submission by the Commission. Is this not the wise course of action for the party as well? The Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Damagum, has consistently advocated for this approach, urging the NWC to allow the courts to provide clarity before taking irreversible steps. His counsel is rooted in a desire to protect the PDP from the consequences of illegality. Yet, the Governors and their pawns within the NWC have turned a deaf ear, insisting on acting in illegality.
On February 22, 2025, the Southsouth zonal chapter of PDP conducted a well-constituted Zonal Congress to elect Zonal Officers, an exercise carried out in strict adherence to Sections 27(2)(c) and 27(2)(d) of the PDP Constitution. These provisions unequivocally empower the Zonal Executive Committees to summon and organize Zonal Congresses, a clear mandate that leaves no room for ambiguity. Yet, in a brazen display of disregard for the party’s constitution, PDP Governors from the Southsouth zone pressured the NWC to "cancel" this legitimate exercise without any constitutional backing. That move has set a dangerous precedent for lawlessness within the PDP.
The actions of these Governors and their pawns in the NWC are reckless and violate established legal precedents.
Between 2012 and 2020, no fewer than three Federal High Court judgments addressed the question of which organ has the authority to convene congresses within the PDP. In the case of FHC/L/CS/347/2012 at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the presiding judge ruled that the National Working Committee lacks the constitutional power to convene congresses. The court held that such authority resides solely with the Executive Committees at the respective levels. This decision was appealed and subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court.
Similarly, in the suit FHC/L/CS/636/2016, presided over by Hon. Justice I.N. Buba of Federal High Court Lagos, the court reaffirmed this position, referencing the earlier judgment as binding precedent.
In yet another case, FHC/ABJ/CS/208/2020, filed by the Prince Uche Secondus-led NWC against the Ogun State Chapter of PDP at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Hon. Justice Ahmed Mohammed delivered a the same ruling that the NWC has no role in convening or legitimizing congresses and cannot override the Congresses summoned by the Executive Committees at any level.
These judgments remain subsisting and are duly documented in the offices of the National Secretary and National Legal Adviser. Yet, the Southsouth Governors and their allies have chosen to act as if these rulings do not exist, pressuring the NWC to nullify a concluded exercise in clear violation of the law.
The Governors’ overreach did not stop at nullifying the Zonal Congress. In an even more egregious act of lawlessness, they sponsored the inauguration of a so-called Caretaker Committee for the Southsouth PDP, filling positions that are not vacant, an action that directly contravenes an existing order of the Federal High Court, Abuja. To add insult to injury, this purported inauguration was attended by Senator Adolphus Wabara, a man who has been expelled from the PDP by his Abia State Chapter.
How can a party that prides itself on discipline and due process allow such blatant disregard for its own rules?
Further compounding the absurdity, a recent so-called NWC meeting reportedly included Chief Ali Odefa, a former National Vice Chairman Southeast, despite his expulsion from the party, an expulsion upheld by the Federal High Court in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. The presence of expelled members in has already invalidated the the exercise.
Let it be stated for the record that Ambassador Umar Damagum has done his part by providing sound and reasoned advice. Should the party suffer adverse consequences in the future as a result of these illegalities, the blame must not be laid at his feet. The responsibility will rest squarely with those Governors and NWC members who have chosen to prioritize personal agendas over the collective good of the PDP.
The PDP Governors should note that every action taken today, or in the past, that violates the PDP Constitution will ultimately be deemed null and void, with no legal effect whatsoever.
ALLIED PATRIOTS OF PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY
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