The plaintiff had sought the nullification of Ganduje’s appointment and asked the court to prevent him from further acting as APC National Chairman.
Abuja, Nigeria – An Abuja Federal High Court has rejected a lawsuit aimed at ousting Abdullahi Ganduje as the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in delivering his judgment, upheld the preliminary objections raised by the second and third defendants. The judge agreed with the second defendant’s argument that the claimant lacked the locus standi, or legal standing, to file the suit.
Additionally, the court found merit in the third defendant’s claim that the forum, under which the plaintiff had filed the suit, was not a registered legal entity.
Ekwo emphasized that since the North Central APC Forum is not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), it lacks the legal capacity to initiate such a case. The judge also highlighted that the plaintiff failed to utilize the internal mechanisms of the party to resolve the dispute before approaching the court.
Furthermore, Ekwo stated that the APC National Executive Committee’s appointment of Ganduje was an internal party matter, which courts cannot interfere with. He concluded that there was no valid cause of action against the defendants and proceeded to dismiss the suit.
“I hereby dismiss this suit for lack of juristic personality of the claimant. The claimant has no locus standi to institute the suit, and I make an order striking out the suit for lack of locus standi,” Justice Ekwo ruled.
The North Central APC Forum, led by Saleh Zazzaga, had filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/599/2024, challenging Ganduje’s appointment, arguing that it violated Article 31.5(1) of the APC Constitution. The forum claimed that Ganduje, hailing from Kano State in the North West geopolitical zone, should not have replaced Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who is from Nasarawa State in the North Central zone.
The plaintiff had sought the nullification of Ganduje’s appointment and asked the court to prevent him from further acting as APC National Chairman. They also requested that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) refrain from recognizing any actions taken by the APC under Ganduje’s leadership since his appointment on August 3, 2023.
In response to the suit, the Forum of APC State Chairmen passed a vote of confidence in Ganduje, with 37 state chairmen endorsing his leadership during a solidarity visit to the party’s secretariat in Abuja.
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