By Ikechukwu Nnochiri A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, upheld the results of ward congress election the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, conducted in Enugu State on November 1. The faction loyal to Governor Sullivan Chime, has continued to insist that no ward congress took place in the state. Ruling on a suit filed by Mr. Orji Chinenye Godwin, Cletus C. Akalusi and Orji C. Orji on behalf of themselves and all delegates elected at the said congress, Justice Ademola Adeniyi said he was convinced that the election was validly conducted in line with both the constitution and guidelines of the PDP. The court held that a valid ward congress for the election of three-man man delegate from the 260 Electoral Wards of Enugu State took place in Enugu State on November 1, saying the list before it remained the valid list of candidates returned at the election. The plaintiffs had cited the PDP, its National Chairman, the National Organising Secretary of the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as defendants in the suit. The plaintiffs, among other things, prayed the court to declare that the list of delegates containing their names, is the only valid list of PDP delegates for primaries in Enugu State to the exclusion of all other lists. They also sought an order restraining INEC from accepting any other list of delegates for the PDP primaries in the state. Objections *Chime *Chime Preliminary objections raised by the defendants against the suit were dismissed by the court yesterday. The defendants had challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter they said was purely an internal affair of a political party. In his ruling, Justice Adeniyi said the court had jurisdiction to hear the suit because the issues in contention were not simply the internal affairs of the PDP. He stressed that the delegates having been duly elected, they have certain vested rights and could therefore ask the court to protect their rights as delegates. It will be recalled that the high court had in a judgment delivered on November 18 by Justice Evoh Chukwu, declared one Elder David Aja as the authentic Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the PDP pending the appointment of another Chairman from the area where the immediate past Chairman of the party hails from. The judge maintained that having regard to the provisions of Sections 24, 35(1) and 45 of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party 2012 (as amended), and following the resignation of Engr. Vita Abba, as the Chairman of the Enugu State Chapter of the PDP, any meeting of the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the Enugu State Chapter, could not be valid unless summoned by Elder Aja on his own, or at the request of two thirds of the members of the SEC. He held that Chief Asogwa was not entitled to hold himself out or perform the function of the Chairman of the Enugu State Chapter of the PDP “not having been validly appointed”. The court, therefore, ordered Chief Asogwa not to carry out the functions of a Chairman or interfere with Elder Aja in the course of carrying out his duties as the Chairman, while also declaring all acts of Chief Asogwa as Chairman of the Enugu State PDP as illegal, null, and void. Tussle Meanwhile, the leadership tussle in Enugu State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, took another dramatic twist, yesterday, as an Enugu High Court Judge declined further hearing in a suit challenging the claim by the deputy chairman, Elder David Ajah, that he ought to be the acting Chairman of the party in the state, citing threats to his life from some undisclosed persons. This came as a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja also, yesterday, upheld the November 1, 2014, ward congresses conducted by Enugu State chapter of the party. Justice Raymond Ozomena, who was to rule on a motion on notice in the matter, said he could no longer go on with the case, following persistent threats to his life and ordered that the matter be transferred back to the court registry for reassignment. The Judge had earlier issued an order restraining Ajah from parading himself as the Acting Chairman of the state chapter of the PDP, following the resignation of the former chairman, Vita Abba, pending the appointment of a new chairman from the Enugu North senatorial zone where Vita Abba hailed from. Ajah was served with a notice of consequences for disobedience to a Court Order, popularly known in legal circles as “form 48,” following his refusal to comply with the order. Reacting to the development, counsel to the State PDP, Vin Ene and Tochukwu Maduka, described the development as unfortunate, adding that it was “shocking and unwholesome” that a judge discharging his lawful duties could be subjected to such threats to his life as to compel him to decline further hearing in a suit before him. The lawyers also pointed out that the court order was not in conflict with the later ruling of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja presided over by Justice E.S Chukwu, which upheld Ajah’s claim of being the acting chairman of the party in Enugu State. According to them, the Abuja order was “merely declaratory and did not command Ajah to hold himself out as acting chairman, whereas the Enugu order positively commanded him not to hold himself out as acting chairman.” They added that the Abuja order was also not binding on the acting chairman of the party, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, as it was based on a matter that had been overtaken by events. According to him, the ruling of the Federal High Court was based on a suit filed by Ajah, challenging Asogwa’s appointment at a meeting of the State Executive Committee on October 25, 2014. They noted that the State Executive Committee had on its own nullified the appointment it made on that date but had at another meeting held on October 31, 2014, again appointed Asogwa to the position in line with the provisions of the party’s constitution. Vain judgment He said: “As you can see, this is a vain judgment because there are two different situations here with one overriding the other. Ikeje Asogwa was appointed as the Acting Chairman of the PDP in Enugu State on October 25, Ajah went to court to challenge it but the SEC met again on of October 31 and acting on the powers conferred on it by the party’s constitution, overruled the appointment it made on October 25 but again appointed Asogwa as the Acting Chairman. “The ruling of the Federal High Court was based on the appointment made on the 25th of October, 2014. “Asogwa is Acting Chairman of Enugu PDP on the account of the appointment made on the 31st of October and not that of the 25th October, 2014 in respect of which Ajah had sued. That suit has been overtaken by events. “The appointment made on the 31st of October, therefore, remains valid and it is worthy of note that there is no process whatsoever before any court in Nigeria challenging it, not to talk of any court order having been issued against it.”
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 07:36:49 +0000
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