Court sacks PDP chairman

The Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has barred the state executive committee of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), led by Aaron Chukwuemeka, from parading themselves as officials of the party.

Delivering the ruling on an interlocutory injunction on Monday, Justice Stephen Jumbo restrained the Chukwuemeka-led PDP exco from acting in any official capacity, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The case was initiated by Port Harcourt-based legal practitioners Edwin Woko, Love Otuonye, and two other PDP members, who challenged the validity of the party’s congresses conducted across 319 wards and 23 local government areas on July 27, August 10, and August 31, 2024. The plaintiffs argued that the congresses, organized by supporters of former Rivers State Governor and current FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, violated a court order issued on July 16, 2024. The order had explicitly prohibited the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting any congresses until the resolution of the originating summons.

This latest ruling marks a significant political setback for Wike in his ongoing feud with Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Observers have noted similarities between this judgment and a previous one that nullified the APC’s state executive committee, which produced Tony Okocha.

The decision is expected to intensify the political tension within the PDP’s Rivers State chapter, further complicating the power dynamics between Wike’s faction and Governor Fubara’s camp.