Court adjourns suit seeking to remove Ganduje as APC Chairman until July 5

The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned hearing in a case seeking the removal of Abdullahi Ganduje as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) until July 5.

Justice Inyang Ekwo’s court deferred the hearing to permit the parties involved to respond to a counter-affidavit submitted by Ganduje, which contests the validity and legality of the lawsuit.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/599/2024, was brought before the court by aggrieved members of the party under the platform of the North-Central APC Forum.

The plaintiffs, represented by Saleh Zazzaga, are challenging the legitimacy and legality of Ganduje’s appointment as the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

They, among other things, want the court to restrain Ganduje from further parading himself as the party’s chairman.

The plaintiffs also want a court order telling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognise any decisions or actions taken by the APC since Abdullahi Ganduje became APC Chairman on August 3, 2023. This would mean that all of those actions are invalid.

The plaintiffs told the court that Ganduje is occupying the office of the APC chairman illegally, not being from a state in the North Central geopolitical zone.

The plaintiffs contended that the APC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) violated the party’s constitution by appointing Ganduje, hailing from Kano State in the North West region, to succeed Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who is from Nasarawa State in the North Central region, thereby flouting the party’s rules and zoning arrangements.

The plaintiffs contended that Ganduje’s appointment to replace Abdullahi Adamu was clearly in violation of Article 31.5(1) f of the APC constitution and exceeded the powers granted to the party’s NEC.

The plaintiffs also said that Article 31.5(1) of the APC Constitution (2013, as amended) requires the party to follow a certain process when filling a vacant position. In this case, they said, that process involves choosing a member from Nasarawa State in the North Central region to replace the retiring chairman.

The plaintiffs are seeking a court declaration that, pursuant to Article 20(1) of the APC Constitution (2013 as amended), Ganduje’s appointment as National Chairman without a democratically conducted election is invalid.

The plaintiffs are also seeking a court declaration that, in accordance with Article 13 of the APC Constitution (2013 as amended), the party’s national convention is the supreme decision-making body, vested with the exclusive authority to elect or remove national officers, including the national chairman.

The plaintiffs also want a declaration that the party’s NEC lacked the power to appoint anyone to the chairman’s office.

When the case came up for hearing on Wednesday, the plaintiffs’ counsel, Benjamin Davou, informed the court that he required additional time to review and respond to the new legal filings submitted by Ganduje’s lawyer.

Mr. Raymond Asikeni (SAN), Ganduje’s attorney, did not object to the plaintiffs’ counsel’s request for an adjournment.

As a result, Justice Ekwo postponed the case to a later date for further hearing.

In addition, the APC and the INEC are named as defendants in the lawsuit.