In spite of efforts by the reconciliation committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to appease defeated aspirants at its national convention held a few days ago, one of the aspirants for the chairmanship post, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, has filed a suit at an Abuja Federal High Court challenging the outcome of the elective convention, which saw the emergence of Uche Secondus as the national chairman of the party.
In suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1225/2017 filed on behalf of Prof. Taoheed Adedoja’s by Messers Rickey Tarfa & Co., the aspirant in the PDP national chairmanship contest claimed that his name was wrongly spelt as “Taoheed Oladoja” thereby misleading delegates and robbing him of victory at the convention.
He said when he observed the anomaly, he and his agent reported the error to the relevant officials in charge of the convention but no remedy was made.
Angered by the outcome of the chairmanship election for which he got no vote, he said among his prayers was to declare the election for the post of chairman of the PDP held at the Eagle Square, Abuja on December 9, null and void.
“Pray the court declares as null and void any document submitted by PDP or by the purported occupier of the position of the national chairman to INEC.
“Pray the court for the cancellation of the national chairmanship election held on Saturday, December 9 at the Eagle Square.
“Pray the court to order the conduct of another elective national convention for the election of national chairman within 30 days of nullification of the elective national convention held on December 9,” he said in his prayer to the court
Adedoja further asked the court for an order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Secondus as the national chairman of the PDP on the grounds that the election where Secondus was declared chairman of PDP, he was unlawfully excluded from the list of contestants for the position of chairman of the party.
He held that his exclusion was a flagrant violation of the Electoral Act, the constitution of the PDP, the guidelines for the conduct of the national convention and the Constitution of the country.
He said the defendants in the case, including the chairman of the convention committee of the PDP, Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the secretary, and new national chairman, Secondus, had been appropriately served.
“I have suffered psychological trauma as a result of the public ridicule the election result has caused me, my family members, friends and associates.
“My lawyers are demanding for appropriate compensation for damages, ridicule, embarrassment and disrepute brought to my name as a result of my wilful exclusion from participating in the election resulting in the zero score credited to my name which is now in the public domain,” he added.
When asked if he had been contacted by the PDP reconciliation committee headed by the Bayelsa State Governor Henry Seriake Dickson, a visibly angry Adedoja said the committee had reached out to him to verify the date they were supposed to meet, but that after giving them a date, they failed to show up. (Thisday)