Crisis tears apart the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Anambra state chapter and the centre cannot hold as two parallel chairmen emerged ahead of Nov. 6 guber election in the state.
An High Court Abuja in a judgment on Wednesday removed the current state chairman of the party, Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu and replaced him with Mr Ejike Oguebego, a loyalist of Mr Chris Ubah.
The controversial judgement is coming just two weeks to the PDP guber primaries scheduled for June 26.
The judgment has created tension and panic by the 16 aspirants of the party jostling for the sole ticket.
It was gathered that crisis has the stock in trade of PDP in every governorship election year in state.
It was also gathered that in the last 18 years, the party is always in crisis whenever the state is close to guber election.
Meanwhile, Oguebego had ordered for immediate postponment of the ward delegate election slated for the weekend, even when the committee set up for the exercise has arrived from Abuja for the purpose.
Reacting, on Thursday Ndubuisi Nwobu described the court judgment it as machantile rulling that cannot derail PDP from being focus on getting the governorship position in the state.
He said the PDP primary will hold as planned, noting that a similar court of equal jurisdiction had ruled in their favour few in 2017.
He said the efforts of enemies of PDP will be in futility, because the purported court judgment was wrongly obtained when the courts are on strike.
Nwobu also said the plaintiff in the matter, Mr Chukwudi Umeagba and the National leadership of the party have long withdrawn from the matter .
He contended that there is a subsisting order of a Federal High Court, Abuja which is a court of coordinate jurisdiction with purported judgment.
“The recent judgement cannot vitiate the initial judgement of Justice A.O .Musa in 2017.
The Justice Musa judgement of 2017 read in part;
“It’s hearby declared that the purpoted Anambra caretaker committee led by the Sir Chukwudi Umeagba as conveyed by the 1st defendant press statement dated 19th December 2017 is null, void and of no effect being constituted in breach of the extant provisions of the defendant constitution as amended.
It is hereby ordered that the Executive Committee of the 1st Defendant Anambra state chapter having been duely elected in the state Congress held on the 4th December 2017 ratified by the National Caretaker committee at it’s 449th meeting held on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th December 2017 is valid and subsisting having regard to the fact that it’s tenure is unexhausted “.
According to him, the implications of the above is that there is a valid and subsisting judgement protecting the leadership of Hon Ndubuisi Nwobu led executive committee of the party and the judgement has not been set aside by any appellate court .
“It is binding on all until set aside by any Appellate Court” Nwobu said.
According to the suit filed by Oguebego, he claimed that there was no validly constituted Congress that elected Ndubuisi Nwobu as state chairman of the party.
Oguebego’s prayers before the Presidecial Primary election of the party in Rivers State, only the local government and ward congresses were conducted adding that Nwobu was sworn in as caretaker committee chairman of the party.
Deepening the confusion further the 16 aspirants of the party are at sea over their fate in the June 26 primaries if the exercise would actually take place following the recent judgement.
None of the aspiants offered to comment on the situation as according to them it is subjudice and contemptious of the court process.
Since 2010 the Ejike Oguebego faction of the party has been laying claim to the chairmanship of the PDP in Anambra state when Prince Kenneth Emeakayi was also insisting that he was the duely elected chairman of the party. ####
