Court declines request by Mohammed’s group to hold NEC meeting

• Mohammed disowns court case as PDP governors meet in Abuja
• We’ve resolved differences causing crisis in PDP, says Oyinlola
• Bauchi youths endorse Damagum as Acting National Chairman

A Federal High Court sitting in Zamfara State has declined the request by a faction backed by the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum (PDPGF), Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State to hold the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

The group approached the court for an ex parte order to hold the NEC meeting as the party’s crisis deepened.

However, PDP governors met last night to further review the success or otherwise of reconciliatory measures taken to address the party’s crisis so far. Leaderships of key organs of the party including the National Working Committee (NWC) and the Board of Trustees (BoT) were invited by the governors to provide briefings.

Barely an hour into the meeting, chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Mohammed, issued a statement denying instituting any court case on the holding of NEC meeting which is scheduled to hold on Thursday.

The statement signed by the Director General of the forum, Emmanuel Agbo, took exception to reports that the Bauchi Governor filed a suit at the Federal High Court of Nigeria seeking an ex parte order that would compel the convening of the PDP’s NEC meeting.

“This is to emphatically state that the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum does not in any way, either by proxy or himself, have anything to do with the said suit,” the statement added.

In a brief introductory remarks, Mohammed said the meeting was called to chart a way forward for the party after the resolution of the crisis. According to him, the party is now united under the leadership of Damagum as Acting Chairman.

Mohammed further reiterated the resolve of the party to reject any move to drag Nigeria into a one party state.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the PDP Reconciliation Committee, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, said the issues causing the crisis in the party had been resolved.

Amid the crisis, a group known as ‘Bauchi State PDP Coalition Youth Stakeholders’ has thrown its weight behind the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum.

Justice Salim Ibrahim declined the request and adjourned further hearing on the case till October 25.

The crises rocking the PDP deepened, yesterday, as the Mohammed faction initiated a legal action to hold the NEC meeting.

Chieftain of the PDP, Imam Awal, who filed the case on Mohammed’s behalf, sought to nullify all actions taken by the PDP acting national chairman, Umar Damagum.

The Guardian gathered that the group approached the Zamfara High Court seeking an ex parte order to convene the NEC meeting, earlier scheduled for Thursday, October 24, 2024.

The move followed an earlier order by the Federal High Court, Abuja, barring the party from removing Damagum as acting chairman.

Battle for the soul of PDP divided the PDPGF, with Oyo, Plateau, Adamawa and Taraba, said to be working for the Damagum group, while others led by Mohammed were working to remove him.

Sources close to the party said while the Damagum loyalists were also sympathetic to Nyesom Wike’s camp, the others are in support of the emergence of Gabriel Suswam as the party’s interim chairman, who will serve until the party’s national convention scheduled for December 2025.

Those opposed to Damagum’s continued stay as acting chairman argue that being from the North East, he was denying the North Central the opportunity to be represented at the NEC.

The action came as the PDP National Reconciliation Committee continued its meeting yesterday with members of the National Working Committee (NWC) at Wadata Plaza, Abuja.

ADDRESSING newsmen shortly after a closed-door meeting with NWC members, which lasted more than four hours, Oyinlola said members had been able to open up to themselves and resolve to move on as a united NWC.

Oyinlola, who said that the issues resolved were the differences that permeated the NWC, added: “The outcome of today’s meeting is that, to the glory of God, we have been able to resolve the differences that have been causing our party some headaches within the NWC.

“We thank God that we have been able to open up to ourselves and resolve to move on as a united National Working Committee, which is what we needed for the progress of our party.”

Asked when the NEC would be meeting, the former governor of Osun said, “That wasn’t part of our discussion and I am not in a position to talk about the NEC meeting. I am the Chairman, National Reconciliation Committee. There were differences in the NWC that I resolved and my job is done.”

THE Bauchi group declared that it would continue to endorse the leadership of Damagum as the chairman of PDP beyond the present.

Addressing journalists in Bauchi, yesterday, the group led by Sagir Sardauna, declared, “We are behind him and hereby declare our total support for our great party’s acting national chairman, Damugum.

“He has been a member of the PDP since 1998 and remains consistent and committed to the success of the party. It is on record that Damugum supported the 2023 PDP presidential candidate wholeheartedly before, during and after the primary elections against all other aspirants.”

The group stressed that “the same people attacking Damugum today supported and lobbied for either ministerial positions or other heads of government parastatals under the present administration.”