Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is currently facing a lawsuit in the High Court of Justice of the Federal Capital Territory for unlawfully extending his tenure as party chairman.
The APC, the National Executive Committee of APC, and the National Working Committee of APC are also named as respondents in the lawsuit.
The plaintiff, Mohammed Saidu Etsu, a former aspirant for the party’s national chairmanship, is seeking an injunction from the court to prevent Ganduje from representing himself as the party’s chairman.
Additionally, Etsu is requesting the court to prohibit Ganduje from overseeing the meetings of the National Executive and National Working Committees of the party.
In the lawsuit identified as CV/2258/CS/2024, the plaintiff urges the court to annul Ganduje’s appointment as the party’s chairman.
He, prayed the court to determine the following question: “Whether by the provisions of Article 7(vii) and (ix) of the APC Constitution (supra) the APC is not bound by the consensus reached by its leaders at the 2022 National Convention held in Abuja, Nigeria, that the National Chairman of the APC from 2022 to 2026 must be someone from the North Central Geopolitical Zone of the country?
“Whether it is in tandem with Article 14.2 (ii) for the National Executive Committee of the APC on 3rd August, 2023, to appoint Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who is from the North West Geopolitical Zone of the country to act as National Chairman of the APC, after the then APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu resigned his position as APC National Chairman?
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“Whether the APC National Chairman can only be elected at the National Convention of the APC? Convention by Article 13 (1) of the APC
“Whether the National Constitution is not the final authority of the APC?”
He also prayed the court for the following reliefs: A Declaration that by virtue of Article 7 (ix) and (x) of the Constitution of the APC, the APC is bound to promote and uphold the practice of internal democracy at ail levels of the Party Organization and institutionalize, maintain and foster representative democracy, discipline and strict observance of the rule of law in the Federation of Nigeria
A Declaration that the 3° Defendant failed, refused and or neglected to comply with the procedure laid down in Article 31.5 of the APC constitution (supra) in the replacement of Senator Abdullahi Adamu with Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as National Chairman of APC on the 27 August, 2023;
An Order setting aside the appointment of Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje by the 3™️ Defendant as the National Chairman of the APC on 3 August 2023 on the ground that the 3% Defendant failed, refused and or neglected to comply with the procedure laid down by Article 31.5 of the APC Constitution (supra);
A Declaration that the National Executive Committee of the APC has no modicum or scintilla of power to appoint Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on 3rd August, 2023, as the National Chairman of the Party;
An Order of Injunction restraining Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje from parading or representing or holding out himself as the National Chairman of the APC in any form or guise, whatsoever
An Injunction restraining or prohibiting Or Abdullahi Umar Ganduje from presiding over the National Executive and National Working Committees, respectively, or any other organ of the APC;
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the matter.
