A Federal High Court in Abuja struck out a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and publish the names of the Kabiru Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Naijaonpoint reports that Justice Salim Ibrahim held that the plaintiffs, led by PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Sen. Adolphus Wabara, lacked the legal standing to institute the suit and consequently struck it out for want of jurisdiction.
The court upheld the preliminary objection filed by INEC and sustained similar objections raised by parties seeking to be joined in the suit, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to establish that INEC had recognised the purported interim NWC or that they had the authority to sue on behalf of the PDP.
Members of the Wabara-led Board of Trustees had approached the court to compel INEC to update its records and recognise the factional interim NWC headed by Kabiru Turaki (SAN). They also sought an order directing the electoral commission to publish the names of the interim executives on its official website.
The plaintiffs argued that the names of members of the Turaki-led executive were forwarded to INEC through letters dated May 4. They further contended that, based on constitutional provisions and the PDP Constitution, the electoral body was obligated to recognise and act on correspondence from the interim leadership.
Aside from Wabara, the plaintiffs included former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Prof. Jerry Gana, Chief Olabode George, Hajiya Maryam Ciroma, Hajiya Zainab Maina, Dame Esther Uduehi and the PDP.
INEC was listed as the sole defendant in the suit, which was filed on June 4 through a legal team led by Chris Uche (SAN).
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on the National Assembly to investigate whether President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains fit to discharge the duties of his office, following controversies surrounding appointments and leadership changes in some federal agencies.
The opposition party alleged that the reported leadership dispute at the Border Communities Development Agency indicated that the President had lost control of his administration.
In a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the controversy raised questions about whether presidential directives on appointments and removals were still being obeyed.
The party also cited the controversy surrounding the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and a series of Federal Government policy reversals as evidence of what it described as growing confusion within the Presidency.
The party expressed concern over reports that an official publicly removed from office by presidential directive continued to occupy the position and hold meetings with senior government officials.
It said the development, if confirmed, went beyond a disagreement over an appointment and raised broader constitutional questions about the exercise of presidential authority.
The ADC argued that where a President announces a replacement but the affected official remains in office, the situation suggests a struggle over control of the executive arm.
The ADC said the BCDA dispute could not be treated as an isolated incident, pointing to the earlier controversy involving the purported PFIPC.
The party described the council as a “phantom” agency that allegedly operated as though it were a legitimate arm of the Federal Government despite official claims that it did not exist.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has claimed that there is an ongoing silent civil war within the Obidient Movement.
Naijaonpoint reports that Bwala, in a post via his 𝕏 handle on Friday, said some members are abandoning the Movement.
According to the Bwala, some members have realised that the group is not a political movement but a hate, vitriol, and unpatriotic movement
The presidential aide added that members of the movement hate and discredit the Nigeria they want to govern