Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order preventing the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from removing Umar Damagum as the Acting National Chairman. The court ruled that Damagum must remain in his position until the PDP’s national convention scheduled for December next year.
The ruling came after a suit filed by Senator Umar El-Gash Maina, alleging that some party members were holding secret meetings to replace Damagum with Phillip Salawu, a former deputy governor of Kogi State. Maina argued that this move violated the PDP constitution, which mandates that the party’s leadership can only be changed at a national convention or by a court order.
Justice Lifu confirmed that any attempt to remove Damagum before the convention would undermine the party’s constitution. The court rejected the defense’s objections, affirming that the plaintiff had the legal standing to bring the case, as it was aimed at protecting the party’s constitution.
