Ugochinyere criticizes court order blocking Damagun’s removal as PDP Chairman
Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, spokesperson for the coalition of opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives, has expressed his disagreement with the court order that prevents the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from removing Umar Damagun as the Acting National Chairman.
In a statement on Friday, Ugochinyere pointed out that the court order did not stop the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP from suspending Damagun. He emphasized that there was no Federal or State High Court order prior to the long-overdue removal of Damagun as the party’s chairman.
Following the suspension of Damagun and others, the NWC approved the appointment of Alhaji Yayari Ahmed Mohammed, the current National Treasurer of the PDP, as the Acting National Chairman.
However, on Friday, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that the NEC and BoT could not remove Damagun from his position. The court stated that no one else could be recognized as the PDP national chairman until the national convention scheduled for December next year.
Ugochinyere argued that the court’s order seemed to favor a faction of the PDP aligned with former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, and he insisted that Alhaji Yayari Ahmed Mohammed remains the acting chair as the party prepares for an upcoming NEC meeting later this month.
He also urged the courts to refrain from interfering in the internal matters of political parties.
