How court sacked Modu Sheriff as PDP chairman

ABUJA—An Abuja High Court sitting at Apo yesterday sacked the factional chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff, from office.

But Modu Sheriff in a swift reaction to the judgement last night, said he remained the chairman of the PDP The court, in a judgment by Justice Valantine Ashi, declared as “unconstitutional, null and void”, purported amendment of Article 47 Rule 6 of PDP constitution, 2012, at a special National Convention the party held  on Wednesday  and Thursday, December 10 and 11, 2014. It voided the said amendment on the basis that there was no compliance with mandatory provisions of Article 66 (2) and (3) of the PDP constitution. “By reason of the above, the purported amendments introduced to the constitution on the aforesaid dates, are hereby set-aside. “All persons, individuals, servants or agents of PDP parading themselves as national officers of the PDP pursuant to the purported amendment which has now been nullified are hereby restrained from further parading themselves in these capacities,’’ Justice Ashi held. The judgment followed a suit marked FCT/HC/CV/1867/2016, which was lodged before the court by a chieftain of the PDP in Ondo state, Chief Joseph Jero. PDP was cited as the sole defendant in the matter. Specifically, the plaintiff had in his originating summons, prayed the court to, among other things, determine “whether in view of the mandatory provisions of section 222(d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the purported amendment of the provisions of Article 47(6) of the Constitution of the PDP 2012, without registering the alteration  within 30 days  with the Independent National Electoral Commission, is not null, void, illegal, unconstitutional and of no effect whatsoever.” However, Modu Sheriff said in a reaction last night that he remained the chairman of the party, despite the judgment. In a statement by Professor Wale Oladipo, who served as secretary before the Port Harcourt convention and still laid claims to the post, said Sheriff was was duly elected as chairman of the PDP. He said the reports that Senator Sheriff had been removed from office by the court was completely false and a clear misrepresentation of the ruling of the court, which never gave any ruling ousting the national chairman. “For the avoidance of doubt, the court only heard and delivered judgment on a matter concerning certain amendments in the PDP constitution, which has nothing to do with the election of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman or even that of his predecessor, Alhaji Adamu Muazu. “Senator Ali Modu Sheriff was duly elected as the national chairman of the PDP.  He still holds office as the national chairman and has not been removed by any court,”he said.