Favour WinnerFederal High Court sitting in Abuja has given an Interim Order restraining the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from removing the acting national chairman, Amb Umar Damagum from office.
The interim order granted by the presiding judge, Justice Peter O. Lifu, on 3 May 2024, retrained the PDP from appointing or nominating any person to replace Umar Damagum as its Acting National Chairman, pending the determination of a suit.
The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/579/2024 filed by two chieftains of the party – Amb Umar El-Gash Maina, and Zanna Mustapha Gaddama – on May 2 2024, cited the PDP, its National Working Committee (NWC), National Executive (NEC), Board of Trustees (BoT) as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 1st to 5th defendants.
After he had listened to the plaintiffs’ team of lawyers led by Mr. M. O. Onyilokwu, Justice Lifu granted the prayers.
According to the order, INEC is also restricted from recognizing any other person apart from Damagum or acting on any document without the name and signature of the said person.
Part of the court order reads: “The Defendants/Respondents are hereby restrained in the interim, from appointing, selecting, nominating any person to replace Amb. Umar lliya Damagum as National Chairman or Acting National Chairman of the 1st Defendant/Respondent pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice already filed which is herein fixed against the 14 of May, 2024.
“The Defendants/Respondents by themselves, agents, privies or by any proxy, are hereby in the interim, restrained from according recognition to any person other than Amb. Umar Illiya Damagum as Acting National Chairman of the 1st Defendants/Respondents or giving effect to or acting upon any document purporting to be signed by the National Chairman or Acting National Chairman of the 1st defendant without the name and signature of Amb. Umar Illiya Damagum.”
The court said it made the order on the strength of “an affidavit of extreme urgency” that was filed by the plaintiffs.
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The court fixed 14 May 2024 for hearing of the motion on notice.
The court ordered the applicants to enter an undertaking to pay damages that will be assessed by the court in case of discovery that it has been misled in one way or the other in granting the interim order.
Prime Business Africa recalls that about 60 members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the PDP, had on April 8, demanded the resignation of Damagum as the Acting National Chairman of the party.
The group, led by the lawmaker representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency, Imo State, Ikenga Ugochinyere, accused Damagum, who is an ally of the former governor of Rivers State and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, of working in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Meanwhile, Hon. Ugochinyere has resigned his membership of the party.
Also, members of the party from the North-central zone demanded Damagum’s removal, insisting that the position ought to be zoned to them to enable their region to complete the tenure of Iyorchia Ayu, who was suspended as National Chairman of the party last year.
However, despite the agitations, the PDP national caucus, on April 18, extended Damagum’s tenure as the Acting National Chairman of the party
