Supreme Court Upholds 2020 Imo PDP Congresses

Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the 2020 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ward, local government and state congresses in Imo.

Some members of the party had approached the Imo State High Court, sitting in Owerri, in a suit, PDP vs Chief Joseph Ugwulegbo and 63 others, challenging the 2020 congresses that produced the Charles Ugwu-led executive.

Imo PDP in its submission, through its counsel, Chief Ndukwe Nnawuchi, SAN, challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit on the grounds that it was a pre-election matter, since congresses of parties are domestic affairs of the party and therefore not justifiable because courts lack the power to interfere with the internal affairs of parties.

The Owerri High Court agreed with PDP and subsequently dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.

The plaintiffs, led by Chief Ugwulegbo, however, headed for the Court of Appeal, Owerri to challenge the ruling of the lower court.

The Court of Appeal, in its ruling, set aside the judgment of the lower court and ordered for a retrial.

Imo PDP thereafter approached the Supreme Court to challenge the judgment of the Appeal Court.

Delivering its judgment, read by Justice C. C. Nwaeze, the Supreme Court in a unanimous judgment agreed with the objection of PDP, set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal and upheld the party congresses of 2020 as credible.