The Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Dr. Sam Amadi, says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) convention ?stands and is legal,? arguing that the late?t court order before the event allowed it to proceed despite earlier conflicting rulings.

Speaking on ARISE News on Saturday, Dr Amadi said the confusion around the PDP leadership tussle was the result of INEC?s failure to act as a proper regulator and the courts issuing ?contradictory and unnecessary? ex parte orders.

?This convention has legalisation,? Amadi declared. ?If I recall, the latest decision that came in on Friday was in favour of the convention. So you can?t say it?s not legal. Unfortunately, we have courts authorising and counter-authorising actions, and that is the real problem.?

Dr Amadi criticised the current pattern where party factions rush to court seeking favourable injunctions, saying this was never how Nigeria?s electoral administration was designed.

?The electoral system is designed for courts to review actions ? not to take over the decision-making,?he said.

He argued that INEC has failed to exercise its quasi-judicial powers.

?INEC is a finder of facts. INEC acts as if it?s a court because it regulates parties. When parties elect leaders, they file to INEC. INEC should review the documents and make a determination.

But INEC has been deferring to the courts. That is not how regulatory processes work,?he said.

Amadi insisted that judicial review should only come after INEC acts:

?The court should review INEC?s decision ? not replace it. Instead, INEC sits back waiting for court orders, moving back and forth depending on who gets an injunction.?

Amadi said the facts on ground clearly show which party organ is legitimate.

?If I look at the facts, the BOT that is now acting has been in place for over three years. You cannot suddenly construct a new BOT in someone?s office. Factually, that cannot happen,? he said.

?Up until a few weeks ago, there was a party, a BOT, an NWC functioning. Something happened recently, and some people became unhappy. That doesn?t invalidate the existing structure.?

Responding to arguments that the Supreme Court bars courts from interfering in party decisions, Dr Amadi said the ruling ?s often misinterpreted.

?The Supreme Court did not say parties can do whatever they like. What it said is that courts do not select leaders. But courts can review whether parties followed their own rules.

So the proper process is: the party decides, INEC reviews, and the court reviews INEC ? not that the court selects leaders.?

Asked about the party?s expulsion of key figures including Nyesom Wike, Ayodele Fayose and others, Dr Amadi said the party must follow constitutional procedures but also face internal realities.

?There must be a process for determining the position of a party. But I don?t understand how party leaders can be working against the party for too long.

You cannot claim to be PDP while holding meetings in APC facilities. If anybody is objective, they would question whether these people are still in the party.?

He added:

?If I was a PDP member, I would say most of the institutional people are on the side of the acting leadership.?

Dr Amadi said the decision to proceed with the convention ? even as some senior leaders advised otherwise ? was ultimately the right choice.

?What has happened is the best of all outcomes, despite all the controversy.

Know those who are with you and those who are not. Don?t pretend. Some people have been talking to the APC for a long time. Their absence in Ibadan shows where they stand.?

Dr Amadi linked the PDP crisis to a broader national failure to practise inclusion.

?The PDP crisis is an example of Nigeria?s nation-building failure. People want to keep power to themselves. After eight years of northern rule, it should have been zoned to the South.

Once you refuse inclusion, these kinds of crises will emerge.?

Looking ahead, he urged the party and the country to embrace inclusion and constitutionalism.

?The PDP is part of Nigeria. Nation building is an experiment ? it fails when people think they can keep everything to themselves. Nigeria belongs to all of us.

It should not take American intervention for us to wake up. We must understand that we belong to each other.? (AriseNews TV)

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