The Abuja division of the Federal High Court has set aside the expulsion of former governor of Enugu State, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing the decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party as null and void.
In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/163/2023, Senator Nnamani, representing Enugu East senatorial district, had sued the PDP over the disciplinary actions taken against him for alleged anti-party activities.
He asked the court to determine whether it was proper for the party to take disciplinary actions against him without giving him fair hearing. The former governor had declared support for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, which had led to his initial suspension from the PDP.
He said his support for the APC candidate was because he could not support a northerner to become president after the eight-year tenure of Muhammadu Buhari.
In his judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that although the NWC had disciplinary powers over the applicant, it cannot exercise such powers without according him fair hearing.
He held that the third defendant (NWC) cannot validly conduct a disciplinary hearing without according the Plaintiff fair hearing
“The National working committee cannot validly conduct a hearing and reaching a valid decision of suspending/expelling the Plaintiff from membership of the 1st Defendant
Justice Omotosho therefore held that the decision suspending the Plaintiff is null and void and consequently nullified and set aside his expulsion from the party.
The court further granted an order restraining the first Defendant from acting upon the said invalid suspension and expulsion.
The court noted that while it would not dabble into the internal affairs of the party, it has a duty to decide on whether the fundamental rights of the plaintiff was breached by the actions of the party.
