Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a ruling preventing the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from removing Umar Damagum as the party’s Acting National Chairman.
The court’s restraining order ensures that Damagum will remain in the position until the party’s national convention, which is scheduled for December of next year.
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The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Senator Umar El-Gash Maina, the Yobe State PDP Chairman, who alleged that certain stakeholders within the party were holding secret meetings to forcefully replace Damagum with a former Kogi State deputy governor, Phillip Salawu. Maina argued that these actions were in violation of the PDP’s constitution.
In his judgment, Justice Lifu emphasized that, according to Articles 42, 47, and 67 of the PDP Constitution, national officers can only be elected at a national convention.
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The judge agreed with the plaintiff, stating that Damagum could only be replaced through a court order or during the national convention.
The plaintiff had previously written two letters to the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, to raise concerns about the clandestine meetings, but these letters went unaddressed.
As a result, Maina sought legal intervention to protect the PDP Constitution and ensure that the party adhered to its rules, particularly regarding the rotation of the national chairmanship between the North and South.
Justice Lifu also rejected the defendants’ objections, which claimed that Maina had no legal standing to bring the suit and that the court lacked jurisdiction.
The judge ruled that Maina, as a PDP member with a valid membership card, had the right to protect the party’s constitution and that his concerns were justiciable.
