Bode George: Like 1962 Western Region crisis, court order stopping PDP convention can truncate this democracy

Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has described Friday’s judgement of Justice James Omotosho of Federal High Court, Abuja, stopping the party’s National Convention as “the joke of the century, open recipe for anarchy and a display of judicial brigandage”.
The convention is scheduled for Ibadan, Oyo State on November 15 and 16.
Justice Omotosho ruled that evidence adduced before him established that PDP failed to comply with provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), as well as its own (PDP) Constitution.
He declared that the party also failed to conduct valid state congresses before it moved to hold the convention to elect its national officers.
But, George, the Atona Oodua of Yorubaland, would have none of that.
He said: “This judgement will consume this country. It is high time the judge put down his wig and gown to join politics. What is going on? This doesn’t have any sense at all. This was how the defunct Western Region crisis started in 1962, leading to the collapse of the First Republic. Pitiably, this led to the civil war from 1967 to 1970.
“I call on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the National Judicial Council to call this judge to order. Any judgement capable of leading to a breakdown of law and order should be avoided. What power does he have to order PDP not to have its National Convention? Has the judiciary gone to the dogs?
“During all our congresses leading to this convention, INEC officials were present. The electoral body witnessed the procedure. They took notes. INEC is not complaining. The judge did not even call INEC officials to crosscheck facts, and tell him what they witnessed during our congresses. So, why is the judge complaining? Does he have a political interest?
“What type of judgement is this? Are we still in a democracy? We have to be careful in this country. The CJN and NJC should monitor some of these judges before they set our democracy on fire.
“PDP is the oldest and most experienced party in the country today. Since 1998 when we formed this party, we have always followed the law during our congresses and convention, as laid down by the founding fathers. So, nobody should teach us what we already know”.
He lamented that the judiciary is being used to truncate democracy in the largest black-populated country in the world.
George dismissed all the grounds adduced for the judgement, stating that it wasn’t the perogative of the court to dabble into the internal affairs of a political party in managing its affairs as entrenched in its internal dynamics and Constitution.