Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Nationwide Chairman Umar Iliya Damagum and Nationwide Authorized Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade clashed over the occasion’s authorized illustration on the Federal Excessive Court docket in Abuja on Tuesday.
The disagreement ensued when a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chris Uche, employed by Mr Damagum who was current in courtroom, introduced look for the PDP throughout listening to in a go well with difficult the occasion’s scheduled elective nationwide conference.
Mr Ajibade, who’s a SAN, rose as much as counter the transfer by additionally saying an look to personally signify the occasion.
The dispute between the 2 prime occasion officers stalled courtroom proceedings for a number of minutes, with each males sustaining that they’d the only authority to nominate authorized illustration for the occasion.
The conflict highlights the boldness disaster that has pushed a wedge between PDP leaders, which in flip has weakened the occasion in numerous elements of the nation and ranges of presidency.
It got here on a day Governor Peter Mbah, the final PDP governor within the South-east, together with political appointees and elected officers within the state, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). A PDP senator from Bauchi State, Samaila Kila, additionally dumped the occasion to hitch the APC, which now has a two-thirds majority within the Nigerian higher legislative chamber.
Some PDP members just lately filed the go well with to cease the conduct of the occasion’s elective conference scheduled for November.
This adopted the issuance of the discover and timetable for the elective nationwide conference by the Nationwide Working Committee.
The doc dated 3 August and signed by the Nationwide Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, scheduled the nationwide conference for 15 and 16 November in Ibadan, Oyo State, the place new nationwide officers are anticipated to be elected.
Displeased with the transfer, occasion members – Austin Nwachukwu (Imo PDP chairman), Amah Abraham Nnanna (Abia PDP chairman) and Turnah Alabh George (PDP secretary, South South) – filed their go well with to problem it.
They sued defendants together with the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC), the PDP, Samuel Anyanwu (nationwide secretary of the occasion), Umar Bature (nationwide organising secretary), the Nationwide Working Committee (NWC) and the Nationwide Govt Committee (NEC) of the occasion.
Disagreement over lawyer appointment
At Tuesday’s listening to, Joseph Daudu, a SAN, introduced look for the plaintiffs.
However when Mr Uche, SAN, with greater than 5 different senior advocates, introduced look for the PDP, the occasion’s nationwide authorized adviser, Mr Ajibade, the occasion’s nationwide authorized adviser and a SAN, countered, saying himself because the one to signify the occasion.
Mr Uche knowledgeable the choose, Mr Omotosho, that he had a letter from the PDP nationwide chairman to signify the occasion within the go well with.
Mr Ajibade, nonetheless, replied that he was the only authority vested with energy by the PDP structure to nominate authorized illustration for the occasion and cited some judgements to again his declare.
Whereas they have been nonetheless arguing, the choose paused the listening to for 10 minutes and directed the 2 PDP officers to step out of the courtroom and put their home so as.
On the finish of the ten minutes, the 2 reported again to the courtroom that they have been unable to reconcile the problem of authorized illustration. This prompted Mr Uche to hunt a brief adjournment to allow them to resolve the matter.
Nonetheless, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Mr Daudu, pleaded with the choose to listen to the matter on the following adjourned date, even when the respondents had but to resolve their variations.
Mr Omotosho subsequently adjourned the matter to 16 October.
READ ALSO: Actual motive we dumped PDP for APC – Gov Mbah
Addition of extra defendants
At Tuesday’s proceedings, the choose additionally joined the PDP chairperson, Mr Damagum, and two different officers, Ali Odefa and Emmanuel Ogidi, because the seventh, eighth and ninth defendants within the go well with.
Their respective attorneys, Paul Erokoro and Audu Anuga (SANs), had requested that their shoppers be joined within the matter. They made the requests in two separate functions.
Mr Erokoro, whereas arguing for Mr Damagum’s joinder, knowledgeable the courtroom that he was a mandatory occasion as a result of “he’s the nationwide chairman of the PDP, chairman of the (occasion’s) NWC, of the NEC, and chairman of the conference committee.”
Additionally, Mr Anuga, SAN, in his submission on joinder for Mr Odefa and Mr Ogidi, knowledgeable the courtroom that the 2 have been officers of the PDP who could be affected by the end result of the case.
However the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Mr Dauda, opposed the request. He urged the courtroom to reject it, arguing that their joiner would serve no objective.
In a short ruling, the choose stated he had thought-about the standing of Messrs Damagum, Odefa and Ogidi and located them to be mandatory events who could be affected by the end result of the case.
The choose then granted their request and ordered the plaintiffs to listing them because the seventh, eighth and ninth defendants.
He additionally directed the plaintiffs to make consequential amendments to all of the processes filed in respect of the case to replicate the names of the newly joined events.
