There was mild drama at the federal high court in Abuja on
Tuesday as Umar Damagum, national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), and Kamaldeen Ajibade, the party’s national legal adviser, openly
disagreed over who holds the authority to appoint lawyers for the party.
The disagreement occurred during the hearing of a suit filed
by three aggrieved members seeking to stop the PDP’s planned national
convention scheduled for November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan, Oyo state.
The scene unfolded when Chris Uche, a senior advocate of
Nigeria (SAN), announced his appearance for the PDP, citing a letter signed by
Damagum authorising him to represent the party.
However, moments later, Ajibade also announced appearance
for the PDP, arguing that only his office has the constitutional power to
engage legal representation on behalf of the party.
The conflicting claims created confusion in the courtroom,
with both senior lawyers standing their ground before James Omotosho, who
presided over the matter.
Surprised by the exchange, the judge stood down proceedings
for about 10 minutes and directed the two party leaders to “put their house in
order”. But when the court reconvened, the disagreement remained unresolved.
Uche later sought a short adjournment to allow both sides
attempt reconciliation, while Joseph Daudu, counsel to the plaintiffs, urged
the court to proceed with the case on the next adjourned date should the PDP
fail to settle its internal dispute.
Omotosho subsequently adjourned the hearing till Thursday,
October 16.
During Tuesday’s session, the court also granted
applications joining Damagum, Ali Odefa, and Emmanuel Ogidi as the 7th, 8th,
and 9th defendants in the case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025.
The trio were joined through separate motions filed by their
counsel, Paul Erokoro and Audu Anuga, both SANs, who argued that their clients
were necessary parties since the outcome of the suit could directly affect
their positions within the party.
Daudu opposed the joinder applications, maintaining that the
plaintiffs sought no relief against the three new defendants. But Omotosho held
that they were necessary parties and directed the plaintiffs to amend their
court processes accordingly.
The suit was filed by Austine Nwachukwu, PDP chairman in Imo
state; Amah Abraham Nnanna, chairman of the Abia state; and Turnah George, the
south-south secretary of the party.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the
PDP, Samuel Anyanwu, national secretary; Umar Bature, national organising
secretary; as well as the national working committee (NWC) and national
executive committee (NEC) of the party, are the first six defendants in the
case.
The plaintiffs, who are said to be allies of Nyesom Wike,
minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), are challenging the legality
of the planned national convention and seeking to restrain the party from
proceeding with it.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com