A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has annulled the ward, local government, and state congresses of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) conducted in 2024.
Justice Stephen Jumbo issued an interlocutory injunction on Monday, preventing those elected from these congresses from acting as officers of the PDP in the state.
The court’s decision followed a suit filed by two Port Harcourt-based lawyers, Edwin Woko and Love Otuonye, along with two other PDP members.
The case was brought against the PDP National Chairman, the State Chairman, Aaron Chukwuemeka, and nine others.
The applicants argued that the congresses, held on July 27, August 10, and August 31, 2024, were conducted in violation of a court order issued on July 16, 2024, which had barred the PDP and its agents from organizing any congresses until the matter was resolved.
The claimants contended that the congresses were held in “flagrant disobedience” of this injunction and sought the annulment of the congresses held in 319 wards, 23 local government areas, and the state.
The applicants also asked the court to declare themselves as the legitimate members of the PDP state executive committee and to prevent the respondents from acting or presenting themselves as the state executives of the party.
After hearing both sides, Justice Jumbo ruled in favor of the applicants, nullifying the congresses and issuing an injunction barring Chukwuemeka and the other respondents from holding office as PDP executives in the state.
The court also declared the applicants as the authentic and current members of the Rivers State executive committee of the PDP, ordering the national leadership of the party to recognize them accordingly.
