The ruling of the State High Court in Jalingo, which reinstated Alhaji Inuwa Bakaris as the interim Chairman of the Taraba State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), brought an end to the leadership crisis that had been roiling the Taraba State chapter of the PDP.
In a decision handed down on Monday by Justice S. A. Nuhu, the court concluded that Bakaris shall remain the acting party Chairman by finding the nomination of Abubakar Bawa as acting chairman of the party by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to be null and void in the wake of the resignation of the chairman of the party who held the substantive position.
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Based on the provision of section 47(6) of the PDP Constitution, Justice Nuhu came to the conclusion that the right to appoint a state chairman was vested in the State Working Committee and not the NWC, which was the body that had appointed Bawa. As a result, Justice Nuhu pronounced the appointment of Bawa to be unlawful and illegal.
The purpose of the action, which Bakari, Shamang Moses, and Ibrahim Abdullahi brought against the PDP and Bawa as defendants, was to contest the legitimacy of Bakari’s ouster as party chairman and Bawa’s appointment as acting party chairman by the party NWC. The plaintiffs in the case were Bakari, Shamang Moses, and Ibrahim Abdullahi.
As a result, Justice Nuhu said that as a result of the verdict, Bawa is no longer recognised as the Chairman of the PDP in the state and is prohibited from displaying himself as such.
Bawa, who was Governor Darius Ishaku’s Special Adviser (Political Affairs), was sworn-in as acting chairman of the PDP Taraba State chapter against the request of many party faithfuls. These party faithfuls believed that Governor Ishaku had subverted the party’s constitution. Bawa was sworn-in as acting chairman of the PDP Taraba State chapter.
Bakari, who had been serving as the party’s Vice Chairman, stepped into the role of interim Chairman after Lt. Col. Agbu Kefas (rtd.) resigned in order to run for the party’s gubernatorial primary, which he ultimately won and went on to win the election for governor of the state.
