Court voids Anambra PDP delegate congress ahead of governorship poll

The primary elections of the Anambra State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been shifted due to the nullification of the process to elect a three-man ad-hoc ward delegates.

This verdict was delivered by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama on Friday.

The primary had been scheduled for June 26, 2021.

In his ruling, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi held that all activities engaged in by the party after the court’s June 9, 2021 judgment sacking the Anambra PDP’s Executive Council (EXCO), including the June 10 and 11 elections, were null and void because they were done in violation of orders contained in the judgment.

Justice Adeniyi also rejected the request by the PDP and two of its chieftains – Chief Ndubisi Nwobu and Barr. Uchenna Obiora – for an order staying the court’s June 9 judgment.

Read also: INEC dismisses report on APGA’s disqualification from Anambra election

Justice Adeniyi came down hard on the applicants for denigrating the court in their reaction to the judgment.

He said: “The first applicant (the PDP), which is the principal party, has maintained in the face of this court that its judgment is null and void for want of jurisdiction. The same party cannot, at the same time, seek equitable reliefs from the same court.

“A party that has no regard for the judgment of a court and described it in derogatory terms to the whole world, as shown in Exhibit C, cannot quietly return to the same court to seek equitable relief to stay the same judgment that it defied and defiled.”

The judge agreed with the plaintiff/claimant that the PDP violated its constitution in the conduct of the Southeast zonal congress of March 6, 2021 and the appointments made therein.

The judge ordered the PDP to henceforth, recognise and adopt only the list of the already inaugurated party officers and delegates that emerged from the Anambra PDP congresses conducted on November 28, 2017 and December 1, 2017.

By Mayowa Oladeji…

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