A federal high court in Abuja has nullified the expulsion of
Chimaroke Nnamani, a former senator representing Enugu west, from the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP).
James Omotosho, the presiding judge, in his ruling on
Monday, held that Nnamani was not given a fair hearing, noting that the
expulsion did not follow due process.
Citing article 57 of the PDP’s constitution, the judge ruled
that the power to discipline and expel an erring party member lies with the
national executive council (NEC), and not the national working committee (NWC)
which made the decision.
BACKGROUND
Nnamai, a former governor of Enugu, was expelled by the NWC
of the PDP in February while he was serving as senator. He was suspended and
subsequently sacked from the party over alleged anti-party activities.
But Nnamani, in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/163/23 filed on
February 6, sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PDP
national chairman, and the NWC as first, second, and third respondents, over
alleged violation of his fundamental rights to a fair hearing.
In the suit, Nnamani, among other demands, asked the court
to determine whether it was proper for the party to take disciplinary actions
against him without first giving him a fair hearing.
He said he was neither notified of any complaint against him
nor afforded the opportunity to defend himself before he was suspended.
But the defendants, in a counter affidavit and a preliminary
objection, sought an order dismissing the suit, stating that Nnamani campaigned
for another political party while being a member of the PDP.
They said they had the power to suspend Nnamani having been
found to have engaged in anti-party activities, adding that the issues bordered
on the party’s internal affairs which the court lacked the jurisdiction to
determine.
‘NNAMANI’S RIGHTS
WERE BREACHED’
In his ruling, Omotosho stated that while the supreme court
previously determined that matters such as membership fell under the
jurisdiction of the party and were not within the purview of the courts,
section 46(2) of the 1999 constitution granted the court the authority to
address allegations of violations of individual rights.
“This court will not dabble into the internal affairs of the
party but will restrict itself to whether the fundamental right of the
plaintiff has been breached,” Omotosho said.
He said articles 4 and 5 of the PDP constitution give
provisions for a fair hearing to erring members.
He explained that a fair hearing means giving equal
opportunity to parties, noting that where such has been done, no one can complain.
“But the complaint of
the plaintiff is that he was not giving a fair hearing. The law is clear that
specific provisions override general provisions,” he said.
The judge said the available fact before the court is that
the “NWC, at its 566th meeting, considered all the allegations against Nnamani
and approved his suspension for one month”.
Omotosho said it was the NWC that expelled the former
governor on February 10 in a press release, which he said was a gross violation
of the party’s constitution.
The judge, therefore, ruled that the decision of the PDP NWC
that expelled Nnamani was nullified.
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