Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has said Friday’s judgement of Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, stopping the party’s planned National Convention was nothing but “the joke of the century” and “open recipe for anarchy”.
Chief George also described the verdict as a display of ‘judicial brigandage’.
LEADERSHIP reports that the PDP had scheduled its elective national convention for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
However, Justice Omotosho ruled that evidence adduced before him established that PDP failed to comply with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), as well as its own (PDP) Constitution.
He declared that the party also failed to conduct valid state congresses before it moved to hold the convention to elect its national officers. Consequently. the court ruled that INEC should not recognise the outcome of the convention if the party decided to proceed with the exercise.
But, reacting to the judgement, Chief George said the party would have none of that, saying, “This judgement will consume this country. It is high time the judge put down his wig and gown to join politics. What is going on? This doesn’t make any sense at all.
“I call on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the National Judicial Council to call this judge to order. Any judgement capable of leading to a breakdown of law and order should be avoided. What power does he have to order the PDP not to have its National Convention? Has the judiciary gone to the dogs?
“During all our congresses leading to this convention, INEC officials were present. The electoral body witnessed the procedure. They took notes. INEC is not complaining. The judge did not even call INEC officials to crosscheck facts and tell him what they witnessed during our congresses. So, why is the judge complaining? Does he have a political interest?
“What type of judgement is this? Are we still in a democracy? We have to be careful in this country. The CJN and NJC should monitor some of these judges before they set our democracy on fire.
“PDP is the oldest and most experienced party in the country today. Since 1998, when we formed this party, we have always followed the law during our congresses and conventions. So, nobody should teach us what we already know.”
Chief George lamented that the judiciary was being used to truncate democracy in the largest black-populated country in the world.
He dismissed all the grounds adduced for the judgement, stating that it wasn’t the prerogative of the court to dabble into the internal affairs of a political party in managing its affairs as enshrined in its internal dynamics and constitution.
