In a landmark ruling, the Federal High Court has ordered the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to recognize Umar Damagum as its national chairman until the party’s national convention in December 2025.
Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgment, emphasizing that the PDP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) must adhere to the party’s constitution. The court held that national officers can only be elected through a national convention, as stipulated in Articles 42, 47, and 67 of the PDP constitution.
The ruling was in response to a suit filed by Senator Umar El-Gash Maina, chairman of the PDP in Yobe State, who alleged that some stakeholders were secretly plotting to remove Damagum from office. Maina claimed that Phillip Salawu, a former Deputy Governor of Kogi State, was being pushed forward as Damagum’s replacement.
Justice Lifu dismissed the defendants’ opposition to the suit, citing that Maina had sufficient interest and justiciable cause to institute the case. The judge noted that Maina’s concern was protecting the PDP Constitution from being breached and preventing the northern region from being unfairly disadvantaged.
The court also emphasized that Damagum, having been appointed from the northern region, is entitled to serve out the remaining tenure of former national chairman Iyorchia Ayu. Any attempt to truncate the four-year tenure of the northern region without a national convention would be an affront to the PDP constitution.
