A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has granted an interim injunction restraining the immediate past national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sherrif, and Professor Adewale Oladipo who were removed from office at the PDP National Convention held on Saturday May 21, 2016, from parading themselves as national officers of the party pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice brought before it by the Peoples Democratic Party.
A copy of the court injunction has been exclusively obtained by The Trent. (Scroll down to view)
The court on Tuesday, May 24, 2016 also granted a restraining order on any member of the National Working Committee of the PDP who was removed from office by the party’s national convention in Port Harcourt from receiving nominations and or submitting names to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as officers or candidates of the PDP in whatever capacity pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice brought by the party.
In addition, INEC was restrained by the court from according or continuing to accord any recognition to Sherrif and Oladipo or any or all members of the national working committee of the PDP removed from office at the party’s national convention in Port Harcourt, as officers or organs of the PDP pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The national caretaker committee of the PDP headed by Senator Ahmed Markarfi, former governor of Kaduna State, also got a boost with an order of the court mandating INEC to recognise it in all matters pertaining the conduct of primary elections for political offices and the submission of the PDP List of candidates for any elections to be conducted by INEC pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on notice.
With these orders, all appears set for the resolution of the alleged crises within the PDP in its bid to build cohesion and reclaim power in 2019.
From all indications the message to embattled Senator Sherrif, who was disqualified by the national convention sub-committee on screening headed by Emmanuel Aguma, SAN, as not being qualified to contest as substantive chairman of the Party, is clearly that his aspiration is not more important than the party’s unity and rescue mission to save Nigeria from collapse.
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