A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the removal of the Peoples Democractic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Borno State, Alhaji Mohammed Imam on the grounds that he was not validly elected at the party's primary election held in December 2014 in Abuja.
In his place, the presiding judge, Ahmed Mohammed ordered the reinstatement of Alhaji Gambo Lawan as the validly elected candidate of the PDP, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to immediately recognize Lawan as the legitimate candidate of the party in Borno State ahead of the April 11 rescheduled elections.
Lawan had filed a case at the conventional court challenging his substitution by the PDP after he won the primary election on December 11 that was affirmed by delegates in the presence of major stakeholders of the PDP. They included Vice-President Namadi Sambo; Senate President David Mark; PDP National Chairman, Adamu Muazu; Chairman PDP Board of Trustees, Tony Anenih; the Borno State PDP Chairman; the Minister of State for Power, Muhammed Wakil, who is the leader of the PDP in Borno State; BOT members and other stakeholders from Borno State.Lawan argued that the INEC presented him with a certificate of return as candidate but that on December 24 while the name was being submitted to the INEC by the PDP National headquarters in Abuja, it was wrongly removed and replaced with that of Alhaji Imam.
Lawan, who is a former Chairman of the Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM) as well as ex-Chairman of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, had picked the party’s governorship ticket at a process in Abuja personally supervised by President Goodluck Jonathan following his intervention to resolve the lingering disagreement over the PDP governorship ticket in the state. The problem arose from having numerous aspirants from the old PDP members and some from former Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, who had defected to the PDP from the APC and wanted to have a substantial stake.
However, after a meeting with President Jonathan at that time, the party adopted Lawan as its candidate after which delegates were conveyed to Abuja for a primary election that saw them ratifying Lawan's choice before INEC officials. The commission then presented him with his certificate of return.
On the eve of the submission of parties’ governorship flagbearers to the INEC, the PDP National Chairman, Muazu, substituted Lawan’s name with that of Imam, a nominee of Senator Sheriff. It was learnt that Muazu acted on the orders of President Jonathan, who wanted to please Ali Modu Sheriff, although it was illegal.
Pioneer members of the PDP vehemently stood against the decision, defying all efforts by the President to have them support Sheriff's choice, Alhaji Imam.
The PDP members insisted that Sheriff had taken too much, given that they had conceded two out of three Senatorial candidate seats to his supporters; 6 out of 10 House of Representatives seats; 19 out of 28 Assembly seats. He had also been given the slot for the deputy Governorship besides an agreement reached to split State, local governments and ward executives of the party in a 60-40 ratio, with Sheriff to take 40 percent.