Court Prevents PDP from Dissolving Rivers Executives Loyal to Wike
ABUJA – The Federal High Court in Abuja, led by Justice Peter Lifu, has issued an order prohibiting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors, National Working Committee (NWC), and Board of Trustees (BoT) from interfering with the executive committees in Rivers State.
This ruling followed an ex-parte application from the Rivers State Executive Committee, headed by Aaron Chukwuemeka, along with local government and ward executives. The court also barred the national leadership of the PDP from forming any interim committees to replace officials in Rivers State loyal to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike.
According to the court’s order, the tenure of the Rivers PDP executive committees at the state, local government, and ward levels cannot be terminated by the defendants. Justice Lifu further instructed the PDP not to alter or dissolve the leadership in those areas, which were elected during recent congresses.
Additionally, the court ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must not recognize any individuals or groups other than those duly elected in the state, local government, and ward elections.
Justice Lifu has also requested that the plaintiffs submit a new undertaking to indemnify the defendants if it is later determined that the restraining orders were improperly granted. A hearing on the motion filed by the plaintiffs against the nine defendants is scheduled for October 4, 2024.
The plaintiffs in the ex-parte application, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1396/2024, include Aaron Chukwuemeka, Oye Fubara Igenewari, and ThankGod Bekee, representing themselves and the various executive committees. The defendants listed are the PDP, various party officials, and the INEC.
The motion was argued on behalf of the plaintiffs by Dr. Joshua Musa (SAN), who alleged that the defendants were secretly planning to dissolve the duly elected committees in Rivers State and replace them with interim bodies. The plaintiffs contended that without the court’s intervention, they would face significant injustice and losses.
