Court sacks PDP acting chairman

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the embattled opposition party sank deeper into trouble when a court in Abuja, yesterday, removed its acting National Chairman, Uche Secondus.
A judgement by Justice Hussein Baba, ordered Secondus to vacate the PDP chairman’s seat within 14 days.

The court order followed a suit filed by erstwhile special adviser to former president, Goodluck Jonathan on political matters, Mr. Ahmed Gulak.
‎The court held that ‎Secondus assumed the headship of the party through an illegitimate process.
Justice Baba agreed with the plaintiff that the position of the party’s national chairman was originally zoned to the North-East geo-political zone of the country and, therefore, cannot be occupied by Secondus.
‎The court directed Secondus to, within the next two weeks, hand over the leadership of the party to Gulak or any other member of the PDP from the North-East, who is worthy to pilot the affairs of the party in an acting capacity.
Gulak had, in his suit, challenged the emergence of Secondus as the interim leader of the party.
He prayed the court to sack the defendant, contending that by the provision of the PDP constitution and its zoning principle, he (Gulak), was the proper person to replace the last chairman of the party, Adamu Mu’azu, who hailed from the North-East geopolitical zone.
Gulak, through his lawyer, Mr. Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), urged the court to dismiss preliminary objections filed by the PDP and Secondus against his suit.
The defendants had challenged the competence of the suit, even as they queried the locus standi of the plaintiff to file the same.