A new dimension was added to the leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday as Ahmed Gulak, an ex-Political Adviser to former President Goodluck, announced himself as the new national chairman of the opposition party. He claimed that his action was in line with a court decision that was taken yesterday.
But the current PDP leadership led by Acting National Chairman, Uche Secondus, rejected Gulak’s position, pointing out that the court never ordered that Gulak be made the national chairman.
Justice Hussein Baba of the Federal Capital Territory High Court had in December, 2015, ordered Secondus to vacate the chairmanship seat of the PDP within 14 days. The court order followed a suit filed by Gulak. The court held that Secondus assumed the headship of the party through an illegitimate process.
Justice Baba agreed with the plaintiff that the position of the Acting National Chairman of the PDP was originally zoned to the North-East geo-political area of the country and, therefore, could not be occupied by Secondus.
The court directed Secondus to within the next two weeks hand over the leadership of the party to the plaintiff or any other member of the PDP from the North-East who was worthy to pilot the affairs of the party in an acting capacity.
Gulak arrived at the national secretariat of the party with some party stakeholders including Dr. Doyin Okupe. In a speech he delivered shortly after the takeover, Gulak said:”We are today in accordance with the court judgment of 16th December, 2015 and the court ruling of today striking out the motion for stay of execution filed by the defendants/applicants.
“The court order of 16th December 2015 was that within 14 days, my humble self or any other person from the North East Zone be appointed to replace Dr. Adamu Muazu who resigned his position as the National Chairman of our party on the 20th day of May, 2015.”
Gulak continued:”At the expiration of 14 days on the 29th December 2015, the defendants failed, refused or neglected to obey the court orders by appointing me or any other person from the North-East Zone. By the operators of the law and the court order, I now assume duty as the national chairman of our great party, especially as the court has today struck out the motion for stay of execution.”
