Damagun can only be replaced through convention, says court
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, declared that Umar Damagum remains the Peoples Democratic Party National Chairman.
Justice Peter Lifu stated this while delivering judgment in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/ CS/579/2024, instituted against the National Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of the political party by Senator Umar Maina.
Maina, who claimed to be the chairman of PDP in Yobe state, instituted the suit against PDP and eight others.
Maina in the suit approached the court with claims that some party stakeholders have been holding secret meetings to forcefully remove Damagum from office which is in gross violation of the party’s Constitution.
He said that a former Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Phillip Salawu, was to be presented as Damagun’s replacement.
Maina claimed that upon becoming aware of the plan, two separate letters complaining against the unusual secret meetings were delivered to the national secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and that despite the acknowledgment of the two letters, the National Secretary and BoT members have never deemed it fit to act on the letters and their claims.
The plaintiff, through his lawyer Joshua Musa (SAN), prayed the court to invoke articles 45, 47, and 67 of the PDP constitution to stop the move to replace Damagum as the acting national chairman.
The plaintiff specifically asked the court to declare that the national chairmanship of the PDP is rotated between the north and south regions and not through any other procedure not enshrined in the PDP’s Constitution.
In his judgment after going through the PDP’s Constitution and exhibits, Justice Lifu agreed with the plaintiff that Damagum can only be replaced at the national convention of PDP or through an order of a court.
Justice Lifu held that only Damagum must be recognised as the PDP national chairman until the national convention of the party which is scheduled for December next year.
The court barred the PDP NEC and BoT from removing Damagum as the chairman.
The judge held that in line with “Articles 42, 47 and 67 of PDP, officers can only be elected at the National Convention of the party”.
Justice Lifu added that PDP members are bound by the Constitution of the party and as such must always act in line with the provisions and obedience to the party’s law
Justice Lifu also held that any attempt to truncate the un-exhausted four-year tenure of the northern region without the national convention of the party would amount to an affront to the Constitution of the PDP.
The judge also dismissed the opposition of the defendants to the suit on the grounds that the plaintiff had no locus standing to bring out the case and that the court lacked jurisdiction.
Justice Lifu held that the plaintiff predicated his suit on the protection of the PDP Constitution from being violated and the northern region where he hailed from being short-changed from the four-year tenure.
He also held that Damagum having been appointed from the northern region where the former national chairman Senator Iyorcha Ayu hailed from is entitled to serve out the remaining tenure of the national chairman.
Justice Lifu said that the plaintiff having displayed his PDP membership card before the court and having raised the fundamental issue of protection of PDP’s Constitution had sufficient interest and justiciable cause to institute the case.
The judge therefore declared that PDP NEC and BoT are bound by the party’s Constitution and that Damagum as national chairman can only be replaced through the national convention of the party.
He also held that “Damagum having been appointed from the northern region where the former national chairman Senator Iyorcha Ayu hailed from is entitled to serve out the remaining tenure of the national chairman”.
