Aspirant sues Dariye over eligibility for PDP N’Assembly primaries

A Federal High Court sitting in Jos has granted a motion for notice to be served on Senator Joshua Dariye to appear in court pursuant to a suit brought before it, which makes a pre-election claim that Dariye forged his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The court fixed June 6 for Senator Dariye, alongside the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as co-defendants to explain if Dariye indeed was a bona fide member of the PDP especially as at the time of the party’s National Assembly primaries in December last year.

In a motion number FHC/J/M/106/2 brought in consonance with Order 6, Rule 17(1) of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2009, the plaintiff, Nde Alexander Molwus, is contending that the second respondent, Senator Joshua Dariye, is a serving senator representing Plateau central senatorial zone on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), and also an aspirant who participated in the National Assembly primaries of the PDP.

Molwus, who is a card carrying member of the PDP and participated in the said PDP primaries of December 7, 2014 with Emmanuel Goar and Sati Gogwim as the other candidates that made the quartet contest, also contends further that by the electoral guidelines for primary elections of the first defendant, PDP, only a registered member of the party whose name is on the register of the party is qualified to contest the election.

In unambiguous terms, the respondent charges stated further that the second respondent, Senator Joshua Dariye, having not resigned his membership of the LP was not a member of the PDP as his name was not in the party register, and was not qualified to contest the primary election of the party.

Alluding to an application for re-admission into the Peoples Democratic Party dated April 7, 2014 and addressed to the Plateau State chairman of the PDP by the second respondent, Joshua Dariye to strengthen his claim and prayer, Molwus also pointed out that Dariye breached several party traditions and procedures in that quest and the application did not succeed before the conduct of the primary.

Although Dariye could not be reached immediately as his phones were switched off, his sympathisers are agitated and worried that this matter may portend some political Waterloo for their principal.