A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an injunction restraining the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from dissolving the Rivers State chapter of the State Executive Committee (SEC) over allegations of anti-party activities….CONTINUE READING....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Justice Inyang Ekwo delivered the judgment, noting that the plaintiff, Mr. Desmond Akawo, had successfully presented his case.

Akawo, who serves as the Chairman of the Rivers State PDP, filed the lawsuit against the party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu (the immediate-past National Chairman representing himself and members of the National Working Committee), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He sought the court’s determination of whether, based on the provisions of Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 47(1) of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017), he and other SEC members were entitled to complete their four-year term that expires around May 22, 2024.

Akawo’s affidavit stated that the PDP and its national chairman had threatened to dissolve the Rivers State SEC without any prior queries or justifiable reasons.

As a result, he requested an injunction preventing the party and the national chairman from dissolving, suspending, or truncating the tenure of the Rivers State SEC until May 22, 2024, and other related reliefs.

Justice Ekwo ruled in favor of Akawo, emphasizing that the PDP and its national chairman did not dispute the plaintiff’s claims.

He declared that the party and its national chairman could not unilaterally dissolve the state’s democratically elected EXCOs without reasonable cause. The court also issued an injunction restraining INEC from recognizing any caretaker committee other than those represented by Akawo in the suit.