By Jane Okafor, Abuja
ABUJA: Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, has identified the foundational cause of the current crisis buffeting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as judiciary pronouncements empowering a subordinate to
discipline and even expel his superior.
Noting that phenomenon can be detrimental to the nation’s democracy, Jonathan said he is worried by the recent judgements emanating from various courts on political matters in the country, lamenting that the decision of the Supreme Court that could empower a ward chairman of a political party to suspend the National Chairman of the party.
According to him, the apex court ruling is responsible for the current crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and had in the past also caused similar problems for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The ex-President spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the 67th birthday celebration of Prof. Mike Ozekhome (SAN).
Jonathan argued that such court pronouncements was akin to turning a cone upside down, which increases its propensity to fall.
“When a cone is turned upside down, it cannot stand because any little thing that touches it will fall,” Jonathan submitted, adding that such judgements were capable of destabilising the democratic dispensation in the country.
He reckoned that empowering Ward Chairmen of political parties to suspend their National Chairmen is against the natural course of justice as it is empowering a subordinate to remove his/her superior from office.
“You cannot tell me that the head of a department can expel the vice chancellor.
“Since that judgement was given, it has created all forms of instability. The PDP is in crisis today because of that judgement. The APC also faced the same problem at a time.
“Look at how other nations work; I have never seen where the sub-unit disciplines the principal.
“I am therefore pleading with the Supreme Court to review that judgement because it had turned the cone upside down,” ex-President Jonathan said.
