Plateau LGA polls: Bitrus Kaze Bombs PDP For Impunity, Disregard For Rule Of Law

Kaze wrote on his Facebook wall thus: 

PLATEAU COUNCILq POLLS 2021: THAT MY SILENCE MAY NOT BE MISCONTRUED 

Following the decisions of the courts that led to the exclusion of PDP in the Oct 2021 Council Polls in Plateau State, the propaganda was amplified that, “Bitrus Kaze have written the commission [PLASIEC] that they should not recognized the (Sen Ogbeha-led State) CTC, that they should not participate or observed the PDP primary election and that they should not issue nomination forms to the PDP candidates.” Without producing the letter, the State Legal Adviser Barr Bincen Jantur issued a public statement on 25th Oct 2021 stating that; “the pains PDP members are passing through emanated from the controversial deal between PLASIEC and Bitrus Kaze' s letter.” My attention has just been drawn to another post this morning from Barr Jantur who is now saying it is a “lawyer that wrote to PLASIEC on behalf of Bitrus Kaze.” I could ignore the e-rats but when within a week, the State Legal Adviser repeatedly approaches the public space "on behalf of the party" with falsehood to smear me, then I should be able to say something.

The PDP Congresses 2020 in Plateau State were characterized by impunity; to eliminate opponents, nomination forms were purchased in bulk, carted away from the PDP State Secretariat and shared to cronies; other interested aspirants had to run to Abuja for the forms but some were still disqualified for not showing receipts for administrative charges which they were denied despite their willingness to pay; the individual who hijacked the forms became the Chairman State Congress Planning Committee, his members included the Campaign DG of his appointers who were also contestants; the 21st March 2020 LGA Congresses was postponed but hurriedly staged on 23rd March 2020 without the 21 days mandatory notice to INEC; party EXCOs emerged in many places where congresses never held; the LGA Congress Report and Congress Appeal Panel Report were forged; the Hon Choco-led CTC being contestants arrogated to themselves the powers of the Screening Committee/Screening Appeal Panel, the screening result was neither announced nor displayed in grave violation the 2020 Guidelines.

These acts of gross impunity triggered a plethora of complaints, which were ignored again in breach of the PDP constitution (Section 58(1.m) makes it an offence to neglect to treat such petitions). Amidst all these, Hon Choco, then the PDP State Chairman roared; “Anybody who does not accept the party decision should feel free to challenge the national body in court” (The Sun, 10th May 2020). On his part, Barr Jantur the State Legal Adviser urged aspirants to “wait for the outcome of their suit before plethora of courts” (Reality newspaper 6th Oct 2020). 

1. The party ignored genuine complaints and asked its faithful to proceed to court. Going to court is not a crime indeed thugs don't go to court; when the Prof Shown-led State EXCO was arbitrarily dissolved in 2009, the State Chapter of the party took the Prince Ogbulafor-led NWC to court and secured judgment at the trial and appellate courts. When President Yar’adua empanelled Gen Abisoye et al over the Jos Crises of 2008, the PDP-led State government took the PDP-led FGN to court. The court is the only reason why the PDP is currently in power in L/North LGA.

2. Following plans to conduct the 29th Aug PDP State Congress, the State Legal Adviser wrote an undertaking before Justice Ngyou of the State High Court Pankshin pledging that the PDP will maintain the status quo pending the determination of the matter. However, the party went ahead to conduct the State Congress, hence the Court issued an Order on Nov 23rd 2020; “declaring null and void, the State PDP Congress conducted on the 29th day of August 2020 by the PDP during the pendency of this suit…” The post 29th August 2020 State EXCO led by Hon Chris Hassan ought to have vacated office but the Court Order was ignored.

3. In a judgment on 26th November 2020, Justice Gang ordered the PDP to, “Conduct election for the PDP EXCO for Plateau State.” The PDP issued a public statement on 28th Nov 2020 promising to abide by this judgment. The Judgment Enrolment Orders was served inter alia on the PDP/INEC since 4th Dec 2020. Again, the Chris Hassan contraption ignored the court judgment. Although the PDP marked their State EXCO as “Court Invalidated” and blocked them from voting in the April 2021 Zonal Congresses in Makurdi, the party did not sack them until 10th June 2021 after PLASIEC announced the council polls. The Chris Hassan-led illegal EXCO issued a timetable for PDP primaries, sold nomination forms and attended a function related to the council polls at PLASIEC on 17th May 2021 in clear contempt of court. PLASIEC reportedly exhibited before the court the timetable, the forms and evidence of his attendance. 

4. About the validity of LGA Congresses of 23rd March 2020, Justice Bakfur in his judgment on 27th Jan 2021 confirmed that PDP Plateau State “had Prof Maxwell Gidado as chairman and four others as members of Electoral Committee… There is no record of their supervision of that election as they had suspended the exercise.” Justice Ashom in his judgment on 24th June 2021 declared, “…as invalid, null and void the purported PDP LGA Congresses conducted by the PDP on the 23rd March, 2020 in Jos East LGA, Plateau State, having been done without serving the requisite statutory notice on INEC.” Information filtered that on account of these judgments, the PDP National Headquarters ordered the conduct of affirmative congresses in all the 17 LGAs. Rather than comply 12 LGA EXCOs were barred from participating in the State Congress of 25th Sept 2021.

If scapegoating Bitrus Kaze as Barr Jantur profusely seeks to do could assuage the potency of valid court decisions, the PDP would have participated in the 10th October LGA polls. As a lawyer, he knows that better. Bluntly put, impunity and total disregard of valid pronouncements by courts of competent jurisdictions did PDP incalculable damage. The PDP ignored our complaints and advised us to go court, conscious that we were in court the party enjoined us to wait for judgment and aware that we secured judgment the party publicly pledged to abide by the court judgment which it reluctantly did 8 months after damage had been done. The PDP may ignore its own members and get away with it but repeated disregard for the courts certainly has consequences. Unfortunately, innocent candidates of the PDP in the council polls, party faithful and indeed the wider Plateau electorates all suffered an absolutely avoidable electoral monologue.