Court Bars PDP from Removing Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum

 

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a restraining order preventing the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) from removing Umar Damagum as the party's Acting National Chairman.

In a ruling delivered on October 11, the court stated that Damagum is to remain in his position until the PDP's national convention, scheduled for December next year. This decision came in response to a suit filed by Senator Umar El-Gash Maina against the PDP’s NEC, BoT, and others. Justice Lifu cited Articles 42, 47, and 67 of the PDP Constitution, which stipulate that national officers can only be elected at the national convention.

The judge emphasized that all party members must abide by the constitution and follow its provisions. Maina, the PDP chairman in Yobe State, claimed that certain stakeholders within the party were conspiring to unlawfully remove Damagum, with former Kogi State deputy governor Phillip Salawu being considered as a replacement.

Maina revealed that after learning of the alleged plot, he wrote two letters to PDP National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, but his concerns went unaddressed. Represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Joshua Musa, Maina sought the court's intervention to uphold the party's constitutional guidelines.

Maina also requested a court declaration that the party's chairmanship must rotate between the northern and southern regions, in line with the PDP Constitution, and not through alternative methods.

In his judgment, Justice Lifu concluded that Damagum could only be replaced during a national convention or by a court order. He warned that any attempt to disrupt the current four-year tenure allocated to the northern region without following proper procedures would violate the party’s constitution.