A Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained governors under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it’s National Working Committee (NWC) and Board of Trustees (BoT), from tampering with its Executive Committees at all levels in Rivers State.
The court also stopped them from constituting any interim committee to replace the officers of the Party at the State, Local Governments and Ward levels.
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Members of the Executives at the three levels are believed to be loyal to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Justice Peter Lifu handed down the orders in a ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by Rivers State PDP Executive Committee, led by Aaron Chukwuemeka and his counterparts.
Lifu ordered the PDP and others not to tamper with or dissolve the local governments and ward leadership of the PDP in Rivers State, elected along with the State Executive Committee this year at various congresses of the party.
In a copy of the enrolled order sighted on Wednesday, the Judge ordered that on no account should the tenure of the Rivers PDP Excos at the three levels be truncated by the defendants.
He directed that the defendants must not, in anyway, allow or permit any other group or persons to perform the duties and functions of the PDP State, local governments and Ward officers elected between July 37 and August 31, 2024.
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The Judge ordered the plaintiffs to file a fresh undertaking to indemnify all the defendants in case if is discovered that the restraining orders issued against the defendants ought not to have been granted.
Listed as plaintiffs in the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1396/2024, are Aaron Chukwuemeka, Oye Fubara Igenewari and ThankGod Bekee, who sued on behalf of themselves and the state, local governments and ward executive committees.
Listed as defendants are PDP, its acting National Chairman, Umar Damagun; Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Umar Bature, NWC, NEC, BOT, INEC and Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed.
However, the plaintiffs, represented by Joshua Musa, claimed that the defendants were making clandestine moves to dissolve the legally constituted state, local government and ward executives committees of PDP in Rivers State.
They alleged that the defendants including the PDP Governors were also attempting to put in place interim committees to replace them to perform the duties and functions of the state, local governments and wards executives committees of the PDP in Rivers State.
The plaintiffs stated that unless the defendants are restrained from carrying out unlawful act, they would be made to suffer injustice and losses.