The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a restraining order preventing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, the party’s National Working Committee, and its Board of Trustees from dissolving the Executive Committees of the PDP in Rivers State.
The ruling was made on Wednesday in response to concerns about potential disruptions to the party’s local leadership.
Justice Peter Lifu granted the order following an ex parte application from the PDP Rivers State Executive Committee, led by Aaron Chukwuemeka. The plaintiffs argued that the defendants were clandestinely planning to dissolve the legally constituted party executives at the state, local government, and ward levels, who are aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The case, marked as FHC/ABJ/CS/1396/2024, also named several high-profile defendants, including the PDP’s acting Chairman Umar Damagum, Samuel Anyanwu, and members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The plaintiffs contended that any attempts to form interim committees to replace the current officers would result in significant injustice and loss.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu prohibited INEC from recognizing any candidates or groups outside the duly elected state, local government, and ward executives of the Rivers PDP. He emphasized that the tenure of these committees, which were elected between July 27 and August 31, 2024, must not be interrupted or invalidated by the party leadership.
Additionally, the court mandated that the plaintiffs must provide an undertaking to indemnify the defendants should the restraining orders be found to have been improperly granted. A hearing for the motion on notice has been scheduled for October 4, 2024.
This court decision comes amid ongoing tensions between Wike and the PDP Governors’ Forum, led by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed.
The governors have sought to nullify the recent congresses that established Wike’s control over the party in Rivers, insisting that the current Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, should lead the PDP in the state.
Notably, seven out of the thirteen PDP governors are advocating for the removal of Damagum, who is perceived as being loyal to Wike, further intensifying the internal conflicts within the party.
