By: Felix Ikpotor
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Monday, granted an order nullifying the 2024 ward, local government and state congresses of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, conducted in the state.
The court also restrained the executives that emerged from the Congresses from acting as executive members of the PDP in Rivers state.
Justice Stephen Jumbo, gave the order while ruling on an interlocutory injunction following a suit instituted by Victor Ere, Senator Denton West, Solomon Eke, Monday Dumiye and 21 others who are members of PDP, against the party’s National Chairman, state chairman, Aaron Chukwuemeka and nine others.
Recall that the court had earlier reserved to give a ruling today, the 13th of January, after hearing arguments from both parties in the substantive suit.
The applicants had prayed the court for an order of Interlocutory Injunction to set aside and nullify the Congresses conducted in the 319 ward, 23 local government Areas and the state structure of PDP in Rivers State.
The congress, which was conducted on the 27th of July, 10th of August and 31st of August 2024 respectively was said to have been organised despite a subsisting court injunctions stopping the process.
The applicants are also claiming that the congresses were done in violation and flagrant disobedience to the order of Rivers State High Court issued on the 16th of July 2024, which stopped the PDP and National Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, their agents, servants, privies from conducting congresses pending the hearing and determination of the originating summons already filed.
They are also seeking an order of court granting that themselves, being the claimants/applicants, are the authentic and subsisting members of the state executive committee of PDP and that the court should direct the PDP, and its National leadership to, henceforth, recognise and deal with the applicants accordingly.
After listening to the presentations, the presiding judge, granted all the prayers of the applicants and restrained Chukwuemeka and others from acting as the members of the party.
