Katsina Court Sets November 29 for Ruling on PDP Congress Dispute

The Katsina State High Court has fixed Friday, November 29, for the ruling on a suit filed by the state’s embattled faction of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the legality of the recent conduct of the party’s congresses. 

The faction led by the former Secretary to the Katsina State Government, Alhaji Mustapha Inuwa, and other PDP stalwarts, are seeking to, among other things, annul the election of the party’s officials and order for fresh congresses in the state.

It was earlier reported that another faction of the PDP in the state led by Senator Yakubu Lado, the 2023 governorship candidate of the party, conducted party congresses which led to the emergence of the new officials of the party from ward to state levels. 

But the court presided over by Justice Abbas Bawale after listening to submissions by the counsels of both the plaintiff and the defendant at Monday’s hearing, adjourned the matter till Friday, November 29th for ruling.

He also gave the counsels an earlier date to determine the preliminary objection and the substantive suit in the case, prior to the adjourned date for the ruling.

Addressing journalists shortly after the court session, counsel to the PDP which is the defendant in the suit, Barr Isaac Nwachukwu, said he presented an argument that party congress is an internal affair. 

He said: “Our argument is that party congress is an internal affair of the party, it has been ruled in many decided authorities that courts do not have jurisdiction to entertain this kind of case.

“It is an internal affair of the party and should be resolved by the party. But since the plaintiffs do not agree with that, they have come to challenge it, and we are asking the court to decline jurisdiction and refer them back to the party.

It is not something the court should dabble into, even in a recently decided case the court also held that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain these kinds of applications. 

Nwachukwu added that: “Meanwhile the court gave us a date to determine the preliminary objection and the substantive suit, in the legal process if the preliminary objection is decided in our favour, then there is no need going into the substantive suit. It is only when it fails that the judge can go into the substantive suit”.

On his part, Counsel to the plaintiffs, Barr. Mustapha Shitu Mahuta, said he was at the court to challenge the conduct of the PDP congresses from ward to local government and state levels which he said was done illegally. 

He said: “We came before this court challenging the conduct of congresses of the PDP from state down to local government and ward levels which was done against democratic tenets and principles, and against the PDP constitution itself.

“One faction of the party led by one individual hijacked the forms and excluded other members of the party in the state from the right to participate in the process, therefore the election was very irregular. 

“Our prayers are for the court to annul this sham of an election and order for fresh congresses to be conducted from ward to local government and state level whereby all members of the party will be given a level playing field to participate.”

Francis Sardauna

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