The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sacked the South West zonal leadership of the party, in a move to pander to the mood of the Presidency against former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
It nevertheless claimed that the sack was done is accordance to the ruling of Federal High Court that nullified the zonal congress for failing to accommodate the delegates of a faction of the PDP in Ogun state, led by acknowledged drug baron, Buruji Kashamu.
After that judgement, the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, presided over by Justice H M Ogunwumiju, granted a stay of execution of the earlier order, pending the determination of the appeal filed by the Segun Oni-led zonal executive since May 25 2012.
PDP Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, and Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the national secretary, had also benefited from the stay, as it avoided the contempt charge slammed against them by the High court, using the same Court of Appeal ruling.
Ruling, the Appeal Court had said: “We are firmly convinced that the balance of justice lies in the stay being granted. The res in this case cannot be destroyed by either party but the liberty of any of the applicants, if taken by contempt proceedings, cannot be easily restored.
“An order of stay of execution or further execution of the judgement and orders of Hon Justice CE Archibong of the Federal High court Lagos in suit NO FHC/L/CS/1248/2011 delivered on 27/1/11 is hereby made. All contempt proceedings shall stay to abide the outcome of the Appeal in the said suit. Order as prayed.”
However, it was learnt that since the National Legal Adviser was tactically precluded from giving his advice and a private Legal practitioner, Chief Joe Gadzama (SAN) was invited and he also played along with Tukur, the party pretended to have forgotten about the Court of Appeal ruling, which supersedes that of the High court. The decision has been termed by many as political and a backstabbing plot to dismantle the South West chapter of the PDP.
Reacting to the sack, the Society for the Rule of Law in Nigeria (SRLN) implored the party to go the whole hog to implement the High Court order that also voided all elections conducted by the PDP at the National Convention.
In a statement by National Coordinator, Comrade Chima Ubeku, the group argued that since the National Working Committee has shot itself in the leg by ignoring the Court of Appeal and obeying a lower court, it is against the tenet of the rule of law to choose which court order to be obeyed, hence the entire National Working Committee stands dissolved by the same order .
“That the South West zonal congress of the Peoples’ Democratic Party held in Osogbo, Osun State, on 21st March 2012 involving the election of delegates to the National Convention of the party is hereby set aside and accordingly nullified,” a prt of the statement read.
“The election of officers at the National Convention of the 1st respondent (PDP) involving only those that emerged as purported elected delegates from South West zonal congress of the 1st respondent (PDP) is hereby set aside and accordingly nullified.”
The group said since Bamanga Tukur emerged from the same convention that produced Oyinlola, the National auditor and other NWC members, then it would only be honourable for all NWC members to resign and another Convention of the PDP held to choose all national officers of the party.
“The alternative and the right thing is for the PDP to uphold the sanctity of judicial hierarchy and rescind its decision to sack the South West zonal executive, as it seems that the NWC was beclouded by the hurry to mow down Obasanjo and the governors rather than obey the rule of Law, SRLN stated, calling on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to sanction Joe Gadzama (SAN) for giving a misleading legal opinion that encouraged PDP to jettison the ruling of an Appeal Court, as the action constituts misconduct.
