By Austin Ogwuda
ASABA—A Delta State High Court,  has restrained the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  from setting up a Caretaker Committee to take over from the Delta State executive of the party led by Chief Peter Nwaoboshi,  following the dust raised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, after  the Commission recently declared that the last congress of the party  in the state was not acceptable.

Justice D. Maidoh, the trial judge in the matter, gave the order while  ruling on an ex-parte application  by Chief Nwaoboshi, Chief Solomon Ogba and the Delta State Executive Committee of the party,  seeking an interim injunction against the dissolution of the state exco.

They had asked the court to “restrain the defendants by themselves, their servants, agents, privies or anybody acting through them, from dissolving the executive committee of PDP, Delta State chapter, constituted by the claimants/applicants pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

They also sought an order of court,  retraining the defendants by themselves, their servants, agents, privies or anybody acting through them, from setting up any Caretaker Committee to take over from the claimants/applicants the functions of the executive committee of Delta State PDP, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed in the suit.

Justice Maidoh, in his ruling said,  “I am of the view that the applicants have shown that they would be in danger if this application is not granted. Finally, I am of the view that in accordance with Order 39 Rule 7 (3),  this application succeeds and is hereby granted.” Further hearing was fixed for 21 July 2010.

Secretary of  INEC, Abdullahi Kaugama, had in an advertorial last week,  listed Delta State among the states in the country that have problem with their congresses.

“The congress was not acceptable as it failed to meet the requirements of the PDP Constitution and the 2007 Guidelines for Congresses,” INEC had said in the publication.

Meanwhile, Nwaoboshi in his reaction in Asaba yesterday said, “PDP Delta State is not perturbed because INEC has no power to determine the outcome of any congress.”

According to him, “the Electoral Act does not give them (INEC) power to sanction any political party on the outcome of congress,  so  they cannot set aside or reject our congress. It is within the purview of the political party that conducted the congress. In our case, the National Executive of PDP has since accepted our congress. We know there is an insider in INEC headquarters, Abuja causing the problem for Delta State.”