BREAKING: Court bars PDP from removing Umar Damagum as Acting National Chairman

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order preventing the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from removing Umar Damagum as the Acting National Chairman.

The court ruled that Damagum must remain in office until the party’s national convention, scheduled for December 2025. This ruling came after Senator Umar El-Gash Maina, the PDP chairman in Yobe State, filed a suit claiming that some party stakeholders were holding secret meetings to replace Damagum, in violation of the PDP Constitution.

Justice Lifu, referencing Articles 42, 45, 47, and 67 of the PDP Constitution, stated that only the national convention or a court order could lawfully replace Damagum. The judge dismissed objections from the defendants, ruling that the plaintiff had a legitimate interest in protecting both the PDP Constitution and the rights of the northern region regarding the four-year tenure rotation.

The court’s decision reinforces the party’s constitutional processes and ensures that Damagum remains in office until the next national convention.