By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Former Governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani has challenged the legality of his expulsion from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The party on Friday, 10 February, 2023, expelled Nnamani and seven others from the party in Ekiti and Imo States over allegations of anti-party activities. The verdict of the party means Nnamani and others are no longer members of the party. The gazellenews gathered that some of them are candidates in the next election.
Nnamani, in a letter addressed to the National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, said the decision of the party offends the procedure of disciplinary of a member of the National Assembly as provided by the PDP constitution.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by thegazellenews.com, the former Governor said the decision of the party offends the procedure of disciplinary of a member of the National Assembly as provided by the PDP constitution.
According to Nnamani, citing Section 59 of the constitution of the party, he said only the National Executive Committee can decide on the matter, not the National Working Committee.
“Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution relating to discipline, no Executive Committee at any level except the National Executive Committee shall entertain any question of discipline as may relate or concern a member of the National Executive Committee, President, Vice President, Governors, Deputy Governors, Ministers, Ambassadors, Special Advisers or member of any of the legislative houses,”Nnamani said in the letter addressed to Ayu.
The expulsion of Nnamani and other candidates of the party some weeks before the general elections appears to have created some legal implications.
“Section 65(2b) provides that a person shall be qualified for election under subsection (1) of this section if (b) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that party.”
Nnamani, a serving senator seeking re-election to represent Enugu East Senatorial District, has been very vocal in his support for the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu against the candidate of his party, Atiku Abubakar.
He intensified his campaign for Tinubu after the PDP announced his suspension from the party as he called the bluff of the PDP national Working Committee, describing his suspension as a “nullity”
