Court rejects suit to remove Ganduje as APC national chairman

The Federal High Court in Abuja’s Justice Inyang Ekwo has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to remove Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje from his position as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice Ekwo threw out the suit on Monday, citing that the APC North Central Group (the plaintiff) lacks legal standing as it is not registered under the law.

The judge also held that they failed to explore the internal mechanism for peaceful resolution of issues before rushing to the court.

Besides, Ekwo held that the appointment of officers for APC by its National Executive Committee is an internal affairs of the party, which no court can dabble into.

Persecondnews recalls that the Northern Central APC Group, led by Mr. Saleh Zazzaga, had dragged Ganduje, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the court, praying for the nullification of Ganduje’s appointment by the APC on the grounds of gross violations of the party’s Constitution.

They contested Ganduje’s appointment, alleging that it violated Article 13 of the APC Constitution by bypassing the democratic process outlined in the party’s laws.

In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/599/2024, the plaintiff listed Ganduje, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the 1st to the 3rd defendants, respectively.

The plaintiff in the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/599/2024, asked the court, among other things, to restrain Ganduje from further parading himself as the chairman of the APC.

It also prayed the court to issue an order directing INEC not to accord recognition to all actions taken by the APC, including congresses, primaries, and nominations, since Ganduje became APC Chairman on August 3, 2023.

The plaintiff contended, among others, that Ganduje is occupying the office of the APC chairman illegally, not being from a state in the North Central geopolitical zone.

It argued that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC breached the party’s constitution when it appointed Ganduje from Kano State in the North West geopolitical zone to replace Abdullahi Adamu from Nasarawa State in the North Central geopolitical zone.

It also argued that Ganduje’s appointment to replace Abdullahi was contrary to Article 13.5(1) f of the APC constitution and ultra-vires the powers of the party’s NEC, among other prayers.

Justice Ekwo, while dismissing the suit, held that there was no cause of action against the defendants since the plaintiff has no power under any known law to institute any case in any Nigerian court.