Taraba PDP plunged into crisis as court restrains new Chairman from assuming office

BY SULE TAHIR

The Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo has given an interim injunction restraining Alhaji Abubakar Bawa from functioning as the state Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party in the state, following the removal of the party acting chairman Inuwa Bakari.

Following this development, .Justice Bala Usman issued an order in response to the application by the erstwhile acting Chairman of the party Mr Inuwa Bakari, challenging the recent appointment of Bawa as the party’s state chairman.

A Certified True Copy of the injunction obtained by our Correspondent read in part that “upon this MOTION EX-PARTE dated the 30th day of March, 2023 and filed on the same date coming up before this Honourable Court praying for the following reliefs:
“AN ORDER of INTERIM INJUNCTION restraining the 2nd Defendant Abubakar Bawa from acting, carrying out functions and parading himself as the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Taraba State chapter pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.

“AN ORDER restraining the 1st Defendant from taking any step (s) that may negatively affect the membership right of the Plaintiff as the acting chairman of the 1st Defendant pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.

“AN ORDER restraining the 1 Defendant by itself or any of its organs at any level from expelling, suspending, reprimanding, censuring, fining, debarment from any party office and removal of the Plaintiff from office pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.

“AND for such further or other Order(s) as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances”.
The Injunction further read that “upon reading the affidavit in support of the Motion paper, sworn to by one Alhaji Bakari Inuwa, Male, Adult, Nigerian Citizen, of Old Pantisawa Road, Nyamusala, Jalingo, Taraba State, filed in the Registry of this Court on the 30th day of March, 2023, and after hearing Chief C. C. Damba Mbanaso, Esq. of Counsel for the Plaintiff/Applicant moved in terms of the Motion paper, it is hereby ordered as follows:

“That an order of INTERIM INJUNCTION is hereby granted restraining the 2nd Defendant Abubakar Bawa from acting, carrying out functions and parading himself as the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Taraba State chapter pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.

“That an Order is made restraining the 1st Defendant from taking any step (s) that may negatively affect the membership right of the Plaintiff as the acting chairman of the 1st Defendant pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.

“That an Order is made restraining the 1 Defendant by itself or any of its organs at any level from expelling, suspending, reprimanding, censuring, fining, debarment from any party office and removal of the Plaintiff from office pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice”.

Justice Usman said that the matter has been adjourned to 9th May, 2023 for hearing.
Nigerian Tribune reports that, governor Darius Ishaku had last week asked the erstwhile acting Chairman of the party, Mr Inuwa Bakari to step aside for reasons yet to be made public and appointed his Senior Adviser on political Affairs, Alhaji Abubakar Bawa as the state Chairman of the party.

This action , is a strategy to control the party machinery even after he leave office as governor on May 29th, 2023.