PDP: Ayu Gets A Bloody Nose

Efforts by a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Iyorchia Ayu to get a reprieve for his removal have failed to materialized, as a Benue state high court has dismissed a suit seeking his suspension to be set aside.

Ayu was suspended by the Ward Executive of the party in Igyorov Ward of Gboko Local Government Area, LGA, on March

26 this year, for alleged antiparty affairs, including that he “worked against the success of the party in Igyorov Council Ward.”

Since then, the former PDP chairman has tried to get a reprieve from the court unsuccessfully.

The ruling on Thursday,  according to those monitoring what is going on in the party could be described as giving the former PDP boss a bloody nose.

Delivering a ruling on Thursday, D.M Igyuse, the presiding judge, described the suit as an abuse of the court process.

The case was filed by one Nongo Ordue on behalf of the 17-member executive of Ayu’s Igyorov council ward of Gboko LGA.

Aside from seeking to void the suspension, the plaintiff also asked the court to reinstate Ayu as the national chairman of the PDP.

However, Clement Mue, counsel to the PDP, submitted that the suit constituted an abuse of the court process.

Mue said a similar case filed before a high court in Makurdi had sufficiently addressed the issues raised by the plaintiff.

In the suit marked MHC/85/2023 cited by the PDP lawyer, Maurice Ikpambese, a high court judge, held that Ayu could no longer hold the office as the national chairman having lost his membership of the party at his ward.

Mue informed the court that Ayu had since filed an appeal against the decision which is yet to be determined.

He said hearing and determining the present suit would amount to sitting on an appeal against the earlier decision of the court.

In his judgment, Igyuse described Ayu’s case as “the worst form of abuse of court process,” pointing out that the plaintiffs had filed a similar claim in a suit marked GHC/36/2023 between themselves as plaintiffs, including Ayu who was the 18th complainant.

The judge noted that the said suit was struck out by the high court 3, Gboko, on June 27.