The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt has again
reserved to give its ruling on the application filed by the suspended National
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, seeking
the suspension of the National Convention of the party scheduled for Saturday.
The three-man appeal panel led by Justice Haruna Simon
Tsammani took this position after counsels for all the parties adopted their
written addresses and adumbrated their positions.
Secondus in the motion, CP/PH/339/2021, is praying the court
to give an Interim Order of Injunction suspending Saturday’s national
convention of the party pending the determination of the suit challenging his
removal as the National Chairman of the party.
The court on Tuesday had adjourned to give its decision on
the matter, Thursday, but had after the much legal submissions adjourned till
Friday, for ruling on the motion.
When the court resumed hearing Thursday, Counsel for the
Appellant Applicant, Tayo Oyetibo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, notified the
court that he amended the processes earlier served on parties to include the
names of all the parties, following the order of the court.
He mentioned to the court that all the eleven respondents
have been served the amended processes, adding that the motion that was not
taken was refiled on the 27th of October and was ready to be taken.
Oyetibo urged the court to have regard on the jurisdiction
of the court to be able to give efficient and efficacious judgement in the main
Appeal and also urged it have regards to the rights of the Applicant.
He noted that Article 35, 1B, of the Constitution of PDP,
made pursuant to Section 222(C) of the 1999 Constitution, used the word Shall
and vested in the Nation Chairman the right to preside over the National
Convention, adding that such is not a privilege.
He presented that the attention of the application is not to
prohibit the national convention, but to suspend it pending when the court
would determine the issues of the leadership of the party, adding that what
court is not to stop is primaries of political parties or general elections.
Meanwhile, counsel for the first to fifth respondents, Henry
Bello, opposed the application with 24 paragraphs affidavit sworn to by the 1st
respondent, urging the court to dismiss the application with cost.
Bello argued that the application seeks the determination of
the main Appeal (leadership of the party) without a hearing, adding that the
prayers are not attainable.
He said the five ground of the amended notice of appeal has
no iota of allusion to the national convention of the 6th respondent, noting
that application is a radical departure and alien to the main appeal.
Also, S.I Ameh, counsel for the sixth respondent (the PDP),
prayed the court to dismiss the application, saying that the balance of
convenience is on the court not to grant the application because it falls
within the set time for the convention as set by the INEC.
Similarly, Godwin Obla, SAN, Counsel for the 8th Respondent
in a 21 paragraph affidavit, sworn to by Joy Okonkwo, urged the court not to
find merit in the application, but to only dismiss it.
In the same manner, Donald Dee-Wigwe, SAN, who stood in for
the 9th and 10th respondents, told the court that the office of a national
chairman is a political privilege and that the decision of the High Court that
sacked Secondus terminated that privilege.
He noted that being a political privilege that it cannot
attract a Judicial response, urging the court to dismiss the application.
However, the lead, Justice Tsammani, after all the
presentations said the court has reserved to give the decision of the matter
Friday, 12 pm.
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