The most discussed topic in Plateau State at the moment is arguably the contentious issue of Peoples Democratic Party’s structure in the state, as well as whether the party’s candidates for 2023 polls were validly nominated or not. In this piece, Seriki Adinoyi, examines the contending issues and submits that candidates are nominated by National Working Committee (NWC) of the party and not the State.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to insist that it has a valid and solid structure in the state upon which its candidates were nominated for the 2023 elections. But that’s not the conviction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which has also tenaciously held to its position that the PDP in Plateau State has no structure, and therefore lacked power to have nominated candidates for the 2023 elections.
Plateau PDP’s travail began with the loss of Governorship election to the APC in 2019. The party stakeholders became displeased with the then chairman of the party, Hon Damish Sango and called for his removal over so many ills.
After much resistance, Sango eventually resigned and a Caretaker Committee headed by the then Organising Secretary, Hon. Gwot Chocho was appointed to run the affairs of the party.
Under Chocho, the party held a congress on the 25th of September, 2021 which was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). But before the election of August 9, 2020, a party Chairmanship Aspirant, Kaze went to Court to challenge the Chocho-led Caretaker Committee.
Ruling in favour of Kaze on November 26, 2020, Justice Gang ordered that the Chocho- led Caretaker Committee be dissolved to pave way for a fresh congress.
Due to a lot of Court cases arising from the first congress, the stakeholders of the party on their own agreed to dissolve the Chris Hassan-led Exco elected from the first Congress and appointed a Caretaker Committee led by Senator Tunde Ogbeha which conducted a Fresh State Party Congress on September 25, 2021, in which Hon. Chris Hassan was re-elected as Chairman.
Speaking on the repeat congress, the state party Chairman, Chris Hassan, said INEC monitored it. He said, “INEC monitored and submitted its report on the congress titled ‘’Comprehensive Report of Repeat Congress of the Peoples Democratic Party’’ dated 25th September, 2021. And Hon. Bitrus Kaze who challenged the Chocho-led Caretaker Committee participated in the repeated congress.
“In fact, he polled 186 votes as against Hon. Chris Hassan’s 1,526 votes. Kaze even congratulated Hon. Chriss Hassan and was also at the swearing-in of the Exco together with his supporters like Lt. General Jerry Useni (rtd) and Hon. Damishi Sango.”
The Federal High Court in Jos ruled that PDP complied with every existing court order regarding its state Exco and that the PDP validly elected a new State Exco in accordance with its constitution and therefore had the right structure required of a party in place when Augustine Timkuk challenged the repeated congress in the court.
Hassan insisted that, “In the repeat congress which held at Langfield hotel, Rayfield, Jos, the 17 Local Government Areas in Plateau State and all Ward EXCOs and ad hoc delegates totalling 1,600 persons participated in the repeat congress. Only the Exco members of five Local Governments Areas, totalling about 85 were excluded for various local reasons.”
He said the judgment of the Plateau State High Court in suit no. PLD/J304/2020 only affected the eligibility of the Chocho-led Caretaker Committee to participate in the first Congress which was eventually cancelled by mutual consent of PDP stakeholders to pave way for the repeat Congress of September 25, 2021.
Arguing on the case at the tribunal which affirmed the victory of the PDP candidates, the party had tendered certified true copies of comprehensive report of INEC on the repeated congress dated 25th September, 2021, suit no: FHC/J/CS/64/2022: between: Augustine Timkuk v. INEC) & 6 ORS (Federal High Court), Appeal no: CA/J/300/2022: between: Augustine Timkuk v. INEC & 6 ORS delivered on the 11th day of February, 2023, and video evidence of Bitrus Kaze congratulating Chris Hassan during the repeat congress, among others.
Hassan however said being a pre-election matter, the jurisdiction for all pre-election matters rests with the Federal High Court, seeing that the duty of the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal is centrally to determine who was validly elected and not to determine the validity of the congress of PDP because the challenge to the validity of the congress report can only be activated in a regular court and not at the Tribunal. Thereafter, the Court of Appeal can only decide if the Tribunal was right or wrong.
He said by section 50 of the PDP constitution 2017 as amended, it is the duty of the National Executive Committee or National Working Committee of the PDP to nominate and sponsor candidates for all national elections and in the case of Plateau State, all the candidates were validly nominated and sponsored by the National leadership of the party.
“There was no evidence anywhere to show that PDP at the national level that sponsored and nominated PDP candidates in Plateau State is in any disobedience of any court order.
“The judgment of the Court of Appeal sacking Plateau State candidates of the PDP was on the basis of an alleged but unproven disobedience to court order. Evidence before the Court showed PDP had complied with every known Court Order.”
On the appeal before the Supreme Court, the PDP and Governor Caleb Mutfwang are praying that the court set aside the earlier judgement of the Court of Appeal not only on the ground that it’s a pre-election matter, but also on the fact that he was validly nominated by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party and not the state, even though the state PDP has a valid structure.
On the allegation of lack of structure, Mutfwang said the Supreme Court in the case of Oni v. Oyebanji (2023) 13 NWLR (Pt 1902) held that even if a political party has a
questionable leadership, its competence to nominate or sponsor a candidate cannot be questioned.
According to him, the Supreme Court has held in many cases that the issue of nomination and sponsorship of a candidate are internal party matters.
