Sunday Ejike
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday adjourned till April 20, 2023, for judgement in a suit filed by the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party’s governor-elect, Siminialayi Fubara and his deputy, Dr Ngozi Odu, over an alleged plan by the party to suspend them.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a short ruling after Fubara’s counsel, Dr Joshua Musa and Mr Johnson Usman, who represented the PDP, adopted the processes they filed in the matter.
Ekwo fixed the same date for judgement in a suit filed by Senator Sandy Onor, the Cross Rivers PDP governorship candidate, and Ambrose Emana, his running mate, against the PDP and its executives over allegations bordering on planned suspension.
In a related development, Ekwo also fixed the same date to deliver a ruling on a motion moved by Musa, asking for an order to amend their originating summons in another suit filed by the Rivers state PDP Chairman, Desmond Akawo against the party, its National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which was opposed by Usman.
At the resumed hearing on Friday, Usman told the court that the PDP wrote a letter to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, seeking that the case be reassigned to another judge.
He said the PDP letter dated March 14, asking Justice Tsoho to transfer the three cases currently before Justice Ekwo and its other cases to other judges, was received by the chief judge on March 15.
The party cited loss of confidence and alleged bias as grounds for the appointment.
But Musa opposed the application, insisting he was not aware of such a letter, adding that such an administrative letter cannot stay proceedings in the matter, more so that the Chief Judge has not responded.
After the council adopted their processes, the judge then adjourned the first two cases for judgement and fixed Akawo’s suit for a ruling.
Fubara and 49 others had, in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/123/2023, are seeking an order of injunction restraining the PDP from suspending, expelling or in any manner doing any act that would tamper with their fundamental rights.
They also sought an order of injunction restraining INEC from according any recognition to any suspension or expulsion or any other act(s) of the 1st to 5th respondents designed to violate their fundamental rights.
They prayed the court to declare that the threat to suspend, expel or tamper with their rights as members of PDP and its candidates at the general elections on account of the disagreement between the party’s national executives and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers where they hail from amounted to a denial of their rights.
They urged the court to declare that the threat to suspend, expel or tamper with their rights as members of the party and its candidates in the March 18 general elections on account of the disagreement between the party’s executives and Governor Wike who was perceived to have a relationship with them amounted to a denial of their rights.
The PDP and its executives, in a notice of preliminary objection filed by their lawyer, Mr Usman, urged the court to dismiss the two suits for being incurably defective and fatally incompetent.
Usman argued that the suits of the plaintiffs were incurably incompetent and ought to be struck out, in that the suit was not justiciable and constituted an abuse of court process as the matter in question is an internal and domestic matter of a political party.
He said the suits were premature and incompetent, the plaintiffs have not exhausted the internal mechanism of the party as provided by Article 61 (1) (2) of the PDP Constitution (As Amended in 2017).
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