Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order restraining the Governors of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), its National Working Committee (NWC), and the Board of Trustees (BoT) from dissolving or tampering with the Executive Committees of the party in Rivers State.
The court also barred them from forming any interim committee to replace pro-Wike officers at the state, local government, and ward levels in Rivers State.
The ruling followed an ex-parte application filed by the Rivers State PDP Executive Committee, led by Aaron Chukwuemeka, along with their counterparts at the local government and ward levels.
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Justice Lifu ordered that the PDP national leadership and other defendants must not interfere with the leadership of the party at these levels, who were elected earlier this year during various party congresses.
The court ruled that the tenure of the Rivers PDP executive committees must not be cut short by the defendants.
Additionally, the court instructed the defendants not to allow any other group to assume the roles of the elected PDP executives from the July 27 to August 31, 2024, congresses.
In their motion, the plaintiffs, represented by counsel Joshua Musa, claimed that the defendants were making moves to dissolve the legally elected executive committees in the state.
They further alleged that the PDP governors and other defendants were attempting to install interim committees to replace the current executives.
The plaintiffs argued that if the defendants were not restrained, they would suffer significant injustice and losses.
After reviewing the submitted evidence, Justice Lifu also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing or accepting any individuals other than those duly elected during the congresses.
However, the court ordered the plaintiffs to provide an indemnity for the defendants, should it later be determined that the restraining orders should not have been granted.
The case has been adjourned to October 4, 2024, for a hearing on the motion on notice filed by the plaintiffs against the nine defendants.
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