TheCable

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has filed a suit before a federal high court in Abuja seeking the sack of all national working committee (NWC) members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Abdullahi Adamu-led NWC took over the affairs of the APC after the party’s national convention in March.

In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1864/2022, and filed through Ayo Ajibade, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the PDP is contesting the legality of the process that produced the party’s national officers.

The suit is predicated on a recent judgment of a federal high court, which nullified the nomination of Gboyega Oyetola, Osun governor, and his deputy, Benedict Alabi, as APC candidates in the July governorship election.

Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge who delivered the ruling on September 30, in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/468/2022 held that the nomination of Oyetola and his deputy was unlawful.

The court based its judgment on the grounds that Mai Mala Buni, Yobe governor, who submitted their names to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), violated the provisions of section 183 of the constitution and section 82(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

Buni was then the acting chairman of the APC caretaker/extraordinary convention planning committee (CECPC).

Consequently, the PDP is praying the court to void the APC NWC as well as all candidates produced by party for the 2023 general election on the claim that they were produced in breach of the 1999 constitution, the party’s constitution, and Electoral Act 2022.

The case file has been assigned to Inyang Ekwo, a federal high court judge.

Ekwo has fixed November 22 for mention of the suit with an order that all the 53 persons listed by PDP as defendants be served with hearing notices in their respective locations.

Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate; Kashim Shettima, the party’s vice-presidential candidate, as well as governorship candidates and their running mates are listed as defendants in the suit.