The Federal High Court in Abuja scheduled a hearing on September 18 to rule on a suit seeking to remove the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, from office. The Court, led by Justice Inyang Ekwo, set the date after the parties adopted their final briefs of argument on Friday, 5 July 2024.

The petition, entitled FHC/ABJ/CS/599/2024, was filed in court by dissatisfied party members through the North Central APC Forum. The plaintiffs, led by Saleh Zazzaga, are questioning the legitimacy of Ganduje’s nomination as APC Chairman.

Among other things, they want the court to prevent Ganduje from continuing to act as the party’s chairman. Furthermore, they requested that the court issue an injunction instructing the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) not to recognize any activities performed by the APC, including congresses, primaries, and nominations, since Ganduje became APC Chairman on August 3, 2023.

The plaintiffs told the court that Ganduje is illegally claiming the position of APC chairman considering that he is not from North Central geopolitical zone state.

They alleged that the APC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) violated the party’s constitution when it chose Ganduje, from Kano State in the North West geopolitical zone, to replace Senator Abdullahi Adamu, from Nasarawa State in the North Central geopolitical zone. The plaintiffs alleged that Ganduje’s appointment to replace Abdullahi violated Article 31.5(1) f of the APC constitution and exceeded the party’s NEC’s powers.

They went on to say that according to the true interpretation of Article 31.5(1) of the APC Constitution 2013 (as amended), the party was required to follow the procedure for replacing an officer in the event of a vacancy and should appoint a member from Nasarawa State in the North Central geo-political zone to the position of party chairman.

They request the court to declare, among other things, that under Article 20(1) of the APC constitution 2013, as amended, Ganduje could only be appointed as the party’s National Chairman through a democratically conducted election and that his current occupation of the office is illegal.

Furthermore, the plaintiffs seek a declaration that, under the provisions of Article 13 of the APC constitution 2013 (as amended), the party’s National Convention is the final authority of the party, with the power to elect or remove national officers, including the party’s national chairman. The plaintiffs also request a declaration that the party’s NEC lacked the authority to appoint anyone to hold the office of the Chairman.

At the case’s resumption on Friday, while counsel to the Plaintiffs, Mr. Benjamin Davou, urged the court to grant all reliefs by removing Ganduje as APC National Chairman, all defendants prayed the court to uphold their preliminary objections and dismiss the suit for lack of merit. Mr. Abdul Adamu represented Ganduje, while the APC and INEC were represented by Isiaka Dikko, SAN and Ahmed Mohammed, respectively.

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