Just hours to the national convention of the All Progressives Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has filed a suit at a Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging the party’s governance structure and asking for the convention to be declared unconstitutional.
The PDP is also asking the court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to de-register the APC.
It claimed that the APC by its entire structure, has run foul of the constitutional stipulations for running a political party.
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According to the PDP, by a certified true copy of INEC’s list of current EXCO, the APC is being run by a 13-member EXCO which is below the constitutional stipulations in Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution that requires the EXCO or governing body of a political party to be drawn from 2/3 of the 36 states of Nigeria which is mathematically 24.
In the originating summons brought pursuant to Order 3, Rule 6 of the Federal High Court Rules, the party urged the court to determine “whether upon a calm consideration of Section 223(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, the leadership of the APC (2nd defendants) can be made up of only 13 members as presently constituted by the chairman of the CECPC and forwarded/registered with the 1st defendant (INEC).
“And if the answer is in the negative, whether the APC has any valid leadership so-called, forwarded /registered with INEC in compliance with Section 223(1) of the 1999 Constitution and whether any act done by the said leadership is valid and founded in law.
“If the answer to the 2nd and 3rd legs of the issue in the above paragraph is further in the negative, whether the APC is not liable to be de-registered as a political party pursuant to Sections 222(a), 223(2)(b) and 225(A) of the 1999 Constitution.”
The PDP, therefore, urged the court to declare all the prior acts of the Mai Mala Buni-led caretaker committee leading to the institution of the suit, as well as all subsequent acts, including tomorrow’s convention as null and void.