Convention: Court bars PDP from conducting election for 18 offices

Justice A. B. Mohammed of the Federal High Court (FCT), Abuja, yesterday, barred the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from conducting elections into 18 national offices at the party’s national convention, slated‎ for Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Saturday.
Delivering a judgement in Chief Emeka Debia V. PDP, in suit number FCT/HC/CV/1443/2016, the judge stated that the tenure of the PDP national secretary and national auditor would expire by December, 2018, while the tenure of the remaining officers would expire on August 30, 2017, with the exception of the national financial secretary and chairman, whose offices were vacant.
‎Deputy national legal adviser of the PDP, Barrister Bashir Maidugu, who spoke with our correspondent on phone, said based on the judgment, the offices where election would not be conducted  include that of the deputy national chairman, national treasurer, legal adviser, deputy legal adviser, deputy national treasurer, deputy national auditor, youth leaders, deputy youth leader, national organising secretary, deputy national organising secretary, national women leader, deputy national women leader, deputy financial secretary and deputy national secretary.
He said the tenure of the above officers ‎would expire in 2017, while the national chairman, national secretary, national financial secretary and national auditor were elected in 2014 and their tenure expires in 2019.
“The party should abide by its constitution and guidelines at all times. If something is wrong, they should make it right. Any manipulation will amount to impunity which is the bane of PDP. So there is need for a truce. The judgment is not a surprise to me,” he said.
Another national officer, who spoke with our correspondent in  confidence, said: “In fact, as we are talking now, we are going to have a parallel convention this Saturday. Yes, two parallel conventions. For those of us in Abuja, we have quite a number of delegates from across the country ‎and we will hold our convention. We are already mobilising.”