The Ahmed Makarfi faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sued Federal High Court (FHC) Chief Judge Justice Ibrahim Auta and a judge of the court, Justice Okon Abang in relation to the crisis in the party.
The suit marked: 9V/2239/2016, filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in the name of the PDP, seeks among others, the enforcement of the party’s right to fair hearing.
The party blamed the defendants for the various conflicting decisions given on the leadership crisis in the party and faulted Justice Abang’s assumption of jurisdiction on cases relating to the party’s crisis when a judge of the court’s Port Harcourt division of the FHC was already hearing similar cases.
The plaintiff is praying among others, for an order setting aside all the decisions and orders made so far by Justice Abang in the cases on PDP leadership crisis.
Yesterday, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi, who was to hear the case, queried the rationale behind the suit filed for the PDP by Ken Njemanze (SAN).
“I must express my reservation that this is not the kind of suit that should be filed in court. I do not know what this suit seeks to achieve,” the judge said.
Lawyer to Justice Auta, James Igwe (SAN) said he agreed with Justice Adeniyi’s observation about the relevance of the suit. He said he had expressed similar view to Njemanze. He said he has filed all necessary documents, including a notice of preliminary objection.
Plaintiff’s lawyer Jideofo Onuoha, said he was just served with the processes filed by the defendants, including their counter affidavits to his client’s motion for injunction.
He sought for time to enable him study the processes (documents) and respond appropriately.
Justice Adeniyi, who is sitting as the court’s vacation judge, said since it was impracticable for him to hear and determine the case before the end of the court’s current vacation, he had elected to return the case file to the court’s Chief Judge for reassignment after the vacation.
Also yesterday, the Ali Modu Sheriff camp of the PDP rejected the peace recipe offered by the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT).
The BoT on Monday directed the removal of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike as chairman of the convention planning committee and the immediate disbandment of the panel.
The trustees had similarly ordered that a repeat convention by held in Abuja, instead of Port Harcourt, favoured by the Wike and the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee of the PDP.
A statement yesterday by Dr. Cairo Ojougbo on behalf of the Sheriff camp, said the resolutions of the BoT fell short of the decisions reached with another reconciliation committee headed by the Bayelsa state Governor Seriake Dickson.
The camp has insisted on having Sheriff chair the next National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting “where Makarfi will attend as a member of the BOT”.
“At the meeting, a chairman of the convention committee will be agreed upon, a new convention committee setup, including all other sub-committees like Zoning, Finance, Accreditation etc”, the statement added.
The faction demanded an enlarged meeting of stakeholders and members, where everybody will be given the to air their views as prelude to genuine reconciliation.
The faction also rejected the vote of confidence passed on the caretaker committee by the BoT, on the ground that the committee had failed to organise a successful convention on two occasions.
The statement continued, “Consequently, we can now confidently inform the general public that well meaning Nigerians have been urging Senator Makarfi to resign to save democracy.
“We therefore call on his friends and associates and family to advise him to do the needful and resign now to save multiparty democracy in Nigeria and stop impunity that has been the bane of internal democracy.
“That the BOT Chairman, Senator Walid Jubril, has brought crisis to the party. In any case his tenure has expired as he has spent more than 10 years as Secretary and Chairman of BOT which runs contrary to the party constitution.
“A party where we have imminently qualified persons like Senator David Mark, Babangida Aliyu and others cannot be led by unstable individuals controlled by the love for money.
“That the source of irritation in the party is the still-born illegal caretaker committee and the Board of Trustees should have advised that the illegality be addressed”.
The Sheriff camp also demanded the immediate reconstitution of the BoT, stressing that “until we get it right and check impunity, the Nigerian opposition party won’t perform as required”.
“As we move towards reconciliation, PDP should prevent any person or group from hijacking the party. Be rest assured that the PDP will emerge stronger as we note that impunity marred the party’s success in the 2015 general elections”, the statement added.
In another statement by his media adviser Inuwa Bwala, heriff said the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee cannot organise the party’s national convention.
According to him, there is no provision in the party’s constitution for a caretaker committee at the national, adding that a competent court has pronounced the committee illegal, while affirming Sheriff as the chairman.
The statement said, “References should not even be made to the caretaker committee in the search for solutions to the PDP crisis.
“It was the imposition of the caretaker committee in the first place, even as a contraption that precipitated the crisis, and any attempt to legitimise its function could spell further crisis for the PDP.
“The BOT members should stop playing the ostrich and come to terms with the reality of Sheriff’s chairmanship, until a proper convention is organised”.
The Sheriff camp said the Chairman of the BOT, Senator Walid Jibrin has forfeited the confidence of greater majority of party members because of his inconsistency and crave for money, and should give way to a credible person whose honour and integrity are not in dispute to steer the affairs of the PDP BOT.
Sheriff further stated that, the BOT chairman has in his actions and utterances portrayed the BOT as being teleguided, saying he has brought credibility problem to the august body by clearly taking sides and championing the cause of particular interests in the crisis, at the expense of his leadership roles as mediator.
“The chairman (Sheriff) was of the view that, even though the BOT lacks the powers to give orders, it has acted in breach of its sacred duty as a father and so called conscience of the party by recognising the Caretaker Committee, even when members know that it was the wrong thing to do.”