Kashamu fears PDP plans to expel him, runs to court for rescue

Apparently hounded by the fear of possible expulsion from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Buruji Kashamu has run to the Abuja Federal High Court, begging it to nullify the disciplinary decisions taken against him by the party.

Kashamu said in a suit he instituted against his party before the court that all disciplinary steps, like the September 7, 2017 query by the PDP on his alleged actions and subsequent referral of the matter to the Disciplinary Committee of the party, were in breach of the judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division in suit FHC/L/CS/605/2016.

He further pointed that the action of his party was also in violation of the order of Justice Babatunde Quadri of the Abuja Division of the court, made in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/732/2017 on September 5, 2017.

According to the senator, who represents Ogun East senatorial district, the PDP has shown a “serial disobedience of court orders… in the management of its affairs in the South-West and disdain for the rule of law.”

He argued that unless the court intervened in the matter, the party would unwarrantedly expel him or block him from seeking nomination for future elections on its platform.

In the fresh suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/866/2017, Kashamu alleged that the reason some national leaders of the PDP were moving against him was because of his hard stand on observance of internal democracy in managing the affairs of the party, especially in the South-West zone.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, the PDP and the Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee are the first three respondents to the suit.

Chairman of the PDP Disciplinary Committee, Chief Tom Ikimi; Makarfi; and another member of the Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee of the party, Ben Obi, were the fourth to the sixth respondents in the suit.

Following alleged anti-party activities, especially in Ogun State and other parts of South-West, the PDP had on September 7 queried the senator.

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The party queried him along some other prominent leaders of the party in the zone. They were said to have encouraged some members of the party, who were aggrieved over PDP nullification of the executive members in the zone as well as some states executives, to approach the court to enforce their rights.

After querying the senator the party had referred his case to its Disciplinary Committee. The fear of a possible expulsion inspires Kashamu’s current court action against PDP.

The senator also accused INEC of failing to check the continued violation of court orders and judgments by the party.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba on Friday fixed October 19, and alternative date of November 10, for the hearing of the suit.

 

 

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