By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, declined to remove Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The court, in the judgement that was delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, dismissed as lacking in merit, a suit that was brought against Ganduje by the Northern APC Forum.
The court held that nothing was adduced before it to establish that the plaintiff is a legal entity that has the capacity to institute the action.
It stressed that there was no evidence that the plaintiff was duly registered in accordance with the requirements of the law.
The court also held that there was no evidence that the group explored and exhausted the internal dispute resolution mechanism of the party before it rushed the matter to court.
More so, Justice Ekwo held that the issue of appointment of officers of the APC by its National Executive Committee, NEC, is an internal affair of the political party which no court has the right to dabble into.
The court said it did not find any cause of action against the defendants and accordingly dismissed the suit.
Specifically, the plaintiff had in the suit, prayed the court to nullify the appointment of Ganduje as the National Chairman of the party, insisting that it was done in gross violation of extant provisions of the APC Constitution.
In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/599/2024, the plaintiff, claimed that Ganduje’s appointment was in breach of Article 13 of the APC Constitution since he is not from the North Central geo-political zone, whose turn it was to occupy the position.
It prayed the court to order INEC not to accord recognition to all actions taken by the APC under Ganduje’s leadership, including congresses, primaries and nominations that were done from August 3, 2023.
Contending that Ganduje occupied the office illegally, the litigant argued that the NEC of the APC breached the party’s constitution when it appointed someone from Kano State which is in the North West geo-political zone, to replace Abdullahi Adamu from Nasarawa State which is in the North Central geo-political zone.
It further argued that Ganduje’s appointment to replace Adamu was contrary to Article 13.5(1) f of the APC constitution and ultra-vires the powers of the NEC of the party.
Aside from Ganduje and the APC, the INEC was also listed as the 3rd defendant in the suit that was dismissed by the court.
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