The Zamfara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken the state government to court, suing the Zamfara Uban Regional and Planning Board (ZUREP) for attempting to demolish the state secretariat in Gusau, the state capital.
According to Col. Bala Mande (rtd), the state chief of staff who refused to defect to the ruling All Progressive Congress with Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle, destroying a recognized party’s secretariat in Nigeria is completely unlawful.
“Which kind of country are we living in when a leading political party in Nigeria could not be allowed to exercise its constitutional responsibility simply because the APC is now overseeing the affairs of the state,” he queried.
Mande, who addressed newsmen at the state PDP headquarters in Gusau, said this shortly after the party’s executive meeting at the secretariat.
“The ruling party has been intimidating the party members and officials since the Governor and his supporters defected to APC.
“The PDP members are law-abiding citizens and we have approached a competent court to seek redress over the matter,” he said.
The former military Governor of Nassarawa State urged supporters of the PDP to remain law-abiding and refrain from taking the law into their hands.
It was gathered that in the suit filed before Zamfara High Court sitting in Gusau, the PDP is among others seeking the court set aside the 29th October 2021 notice of demolition given by ZUREP and declare it as illegal.
The party also prayed the court to compel the defendant to pay the party the sum of N60 million as damages.