The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has commended the judgement of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers state which on Monday validated the National Convention of the party held in Port Harcourt and authenticated all decisions taken at the convention.
The party said that Justice Abdullah Muhammad Liman’s Judgement on Monday has finally laid to rest issue of who is in charge of the party affairs as the court recognized the National Caretaker Commitee headed by the former Kaduna State Governor Senator Ahmed Makarfi as the legitimate body to pilot the affairs of the party until an authorized convention is held
PDP had approached the court to declare that the convention was legally convened and by the right persons empowered by the party constitution to do so and therefore should be upheld.
And that only the court of law can declare a particular action as legal or illegal, but the position of the PDP is that the convention was lawful, legal, backed by the PDP convention and was convened by the body that is constitutionally empowered to call such convention, the National Executive Committee of the party which included at that time Sheriff and who was the Acting National chairman and the National Party Secretary, who are the main respondent in this suit.
Former acting National Chairman Senator Ali Modu Sheriff instead had argued that the convention never held and that the name of PDP should be struck out of the case, but Justice Liman in his comprehensive judgement that lasted for hours after touching on all the contentious issues, declared that the convention was legally constituted and all decisions taken therein including but not limited to the dissolution of the party’s National Working committee NWC are banding on the party as they met the constitutional requirement of the party.
PDP’s Spokesman Prince Dayo Adeyeye in a statement issued shortly after the court judgement said that the outcome has rekindled the party’s long held position that strong and independent judiciary is the pillar for a healthy democracy.
He said that by the ruling, it’s no longer in doubt who is in charge as the party has been rightly retuned to its owners, the people even as he charged pdp members across the country especially in Edo and Ondo states to remain steadfast and work hard for their expected victory at the forthcoming gubernatorial polls now that interlopers have been removed.
PDP also noted that the Port harcourt Ruling which is a final Judgement has taken care of all the barrage of interlocutory orders hanging on the party and declared that with this, the party is on the road to effect its transformation programmes which begins with the scheduled up coming National convention.
Finally, Prince Adeyeye who along with the Secretary of the Caretaker Committee Senator Ben Obi represented the Committee in court, called on Senator Sheriff and his group to embrace the wish of the people and join the reform programmes of the party.
Signed
Prince Dayo Adeyeye
For National Caretaker Committee
