Court returns Sheriff as PDP chairman

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja, has returned embattled chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ali Modu Sheriff as the authentic chairman of the party.

He kicked out the Caretaker Committee of the party, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led, declaring as illegal, every action that has been taken by Committee since it came into being after the party’s national convention held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on May 21, amounted to nullity.

The Thursday ruling effective halts the planned national convention of the party also slated for Port Harcourt for August 17.

Justice Abang said, “Parties have an uncompromising duty to obey court order until it is set aside. The Lagos Division made orders on May 12 and 20, forbidding the PDP from removing the Sheriff-led Caretaker Committee. That order is still subsisting.

Read also: Sheriff bent on running PDP, heads to court to stop convention

“Having regard to the order of the court, PDP had no lawful authority to hold the convention that led to the emergence of the Markafi-led Committee.

“The convention was unlawfully held and the Caretaker Committee was unlawfully and illegally appointed and could not take any legal decision for the PDP in view of the subsisting order of the Lagos Division of this court.

“Consequently, any action taken by the Markafi-led Committee, including the purported mandate for legal representation in this matter is hereby declared illegal.

“If the Markafi-led Caretaker Committee, as apostles of impunity, missed their way to the Port Harcourt division of this court, that court could not have conveniently assumed jurisdiction to set aside the earlier decision of the Lagos Division.

“I hold that the Port Harcourt division of this court cannot make an order to neutralise the potency of the Lagos Division of this court dated 12 and 20 May“.

 

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