BY ANKELI EMMANUEL, Sokoto
A statement by PDP’ Public Relations Officer, Hassan Sayinlawal has stated that a High Court sitting in Sokoto, Monday dismissed a case filed by former governor Attahiru Bafarawa’s faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the conduct of the party’s ’s congresses in the state.
In the suit, the former governor Attahiru Bafarawa led-faction alleged denial of level playing ground for al members during the congresses.
The suit filled by 11 Plaintiff’s in a representative capacity for some supposed known and unknown aggrieved members of the party.
Counsel to the plaintiff’s Ibrahim Abdullahi SAN who took out a writ at the court for them said
the conduct of the party preparatory to the conduct of its 2024 wards congresses in Sokoto state deliberately excluded some members.
According to the counsel, the state party leadership deliberately refused selling nomination forms to simply illegally exclude his clients from participating in the congress and allow their imposed consensus candidates emerge.
This, in Abdullahi SAN’s argument is illegal and against the letters and spirit of the party’s Constitution, Electoral Act, 2022 and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
The counsel, therefore, urged the court to declare the congresses null and void, and order for a fresh and genuine congresses that would provide a level playing ground for all members, as enshrined in the party’s constitution.
Reacting to the suit, PDP through their lawyer, A.Y. Abubakar appearing alongside the State party legal Adviser, Barrister Abdulrahman Tsamiya reminded the court that congresses are internal affairs of the party, hence the court has no jurisdiction to entertain the case.
They therefore argued that the court lack jurisdiction to entertain the suit adding, the plaintiffs equally lack locus standing to institute such actions because they are not duly registered members as required by the party’s constitution, hence appealing that their case be stroke out.
Delivering his judgment on the suit, Justice Kabiru Ahmed, resolved the preliminary objection in favour of the party and held that the court has no jurisdiction to entertain the matter, as it relates to internal affairs of the PDP.
Justice Ahmed also Court also said the Plaintiffs inability to fulfill the requisite requirements for membership as provided by the party’s constitution robbed them of the necessary locus standi to institute the action against the party’s.
He therefore submitted that, plaintiffs failed woefully to prove their entitlement to the reliefs sought in the case, hence they are left no option than to strike out the case for lack of jurisdiction, adding as the nation’s apex court have ruled in plethora of such cases that the court does not have jurisdiction in internal affairs of political parties.
