Jacob Ogodo, Abakaliki
A federal high court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, on Monday nullified the Ali Odefa faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ward, local government, and state congresses.
The faction had two weeks ago, conducted ward, local government, and state congresses to elect new leaders of the party.
In a suit no. FHC/ AI/CS/183/2024 between Nnenna Lynda Udeh and 12 others, the applicant prayed the court to set aside the congresses for being unconstitutional.
Delivering judgment on the suit, the presiding Judge, Justice Hilary Oshomah ruled that purported congresses were void, unconstitutional, and of no effect.
The court further restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which was the 2nd defendant in the suit from recognising any of the officers purportedly elected from the voided and nullified congresses.
Earlier, the former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State, Mr Silas Onu called on the general public to disregard the falsehoods making the rounds in the state that PDP purportedly held state congress, insisting that what happened was just a gathering of friends, not a state congress.
Onu accused the organizer (s) of the purported PDP state congress of attempting to raise dust which is an affront to a valid court order, which according to him, had barred the organizers from carrying out such activities.
According to him: “There is no faction in PDP. There was only an attempt by a greedy individual who thought that the political party belonged to him to hijack it, because he was mistakenly sent to go and represent Ebonyi in the National Working Committee, NWC, and all of a sudden it became a problem to everybody in the party.
“You don’t do a congress when there is a court order, saying don’t do any. Not one, not two. There are many cases in court and the court said, don’t do anything until I finish hearing these cases.
“Anybody who goes about saying he did a congress, is doing so as a direct affront to a valid court order, and whatever the person purports to do, is simply wasting his or her time.
