The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday postponed judgment in a suit seeking the removal of Abdullahi Ganduje as national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) until September 23.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the matter, which was already scheduled for today (Wednesday), was not on the list of causes.
NAN learned that the court clerk had informed the parties in the case that the judgment was not ready and had communicated to them the new sentencing date.
“We have already called the parties to inform them of the developments in the situation. The new date is next week, on September 23,” said a reliable judicial official.
The judge, Inyang Ekwo, had set the trial date for July 5 (September 18).
Mr. Ekwo set the date after counsel for the plaintiff, Benjamin Davou, and counsel for the defense adopted their processes and presented their submissions for and against the case.
The plaintiff, the North Central APC Forum led by Saleh Zazzaga, had filed the suit to challenge the suitability of Mr. Ganduje's appointment as the National Chairman of the APC when he is not from the North Central geopolitical zone whose turn, according to the suit, was to occupy the position.
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In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/599/2024, the plaintiff named Mr. Ganduje, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.
The plaintiff asks the court to, among other things, restrain Ganduje from continuing to impersonate the APC chairman.
He also asks the court to issue an order directing INEC not to grant recognition to all actions taken by the APC, including congresses, primaries and nominations, since Ganduje assumed the role of APC Chairman on August 3, 2023.
The plaintiff alleges, inter alia, that Mr. Ganduje holds the office of Chairman of the APC illegally, not being from a state in the North Central geopolitical zone.
He argued that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC violated the party's constitution when it appointed Mr. Ganduje, from Kano State in the North West geopolitical zone, to replace Abdullahi Adamu, from Nasarawa State in the North Central geopolitical zone.
He also argued that the appointment of Ganduje to replace Abdullahi was contrary to Article 31.5(1) f of the APC constitution and outraged the powers of the party's NEC, among other things.
(YAYA)
