By Tunde Opalana
Reprieve came for the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Uche Secondus and two other party leaders in Rivers State as an Appeal Court in Abuja on Friday vacated an High Court ruling barring them from attending meetings of the party.
The Court of Appeal set aside the orders by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja restraining the three chieftains of the PDP from further attending any meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) or participating in deliberations or proceedings of the meetings in any manner.
In three separate judgements on Friday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the appeals filed by the party’s former National Chairman, Uche Secondus; sacked Rivers Governor, Celestine Omehia and a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Austin Opara for being meritorious.
The appellate court ruled that the issue of whether members of a party should attend the party’s meetings or participate in any of its activities are issues to be determined by the political party and that being internal affairs of the party, are not justiciable and on which the court lacked jurisdiction.
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It therefore held that the Federal High Court ought not to have entertained the cases as it lacked the jurisdiction to hear and determine the suits dealing with issues within the realm of the internal affairs of the political party.
The Court of Appeal proceeded to declare null and void the proceedings conducted in the three cases before the Federal High Court, voided same, including the restraining orders ex-parte made by Justice Ekwo on April.
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