Updated: Secondus loses bid to stop PDP convention

*Suspended national chairman kicks, goes on appeal, says impunity must be resisted

*As 18 candidates emerge through consensus arrangement

*There’ll be no vacuum as NWC tenure lapses Dec 8, says Fintiri

Tunde Opalana, Abuja and Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) got the nod to go ahead with the planned national convention starting today as bid by the suspended National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, to stop the convention failed courtesy of the ruling of an Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Friday.

The court held that the relief sought by Secondus to stop the convention is not personal but rests on the party.

Tilting the balance of convenience in favour of PDP and not the appellant, the court ruled that the PDP is the only body that has legal rights to convene a convention.

The court further affirmed that the legal rights by the party cannot be destroyed by the ambition of the appellant and therefore, the application for Interlocutory Injunction was refused.

Delivering the ruling on behalf of the two other justices of the appeal panel, Justice Gabriel Kolawole held that the attempt by the applicant, Prince Uche Secondus, to ask for the suspension of the planned convention was an act of self-induced urgency to disrupt an on-going lawful process of the party.

Justice Kolawole wondered why Uche Secondus waited for too long to seek the stoppage of the process which had been communicated to the Independent National Commission, INEC, by the acting National Chairman of the party, Chief Yemi Akinwumi.

Reacting to the ruling, counsel to Prince Secondus, Tayo Oyetubo (SAN) said that his client would study the ruling before making a decision.

He said: “We still have an appeal that is pending in this court which is yet to be taken. That’s what the court said it would give us a date on it to argue. It is the outcome of that appeal that will determine the validity or otherwise of the decision taken at the PDP National Convention.”

On his part, lawyer to the PDP, Henry Bello, expressed satisfaction for the ruling.

He said: “The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt has just delivered a considered ruling where the court has dismissed the application of the appellant applicant to stop the National Convention of the PDP.

Rather, the court has ordered PDP to go ahead with the convention unhindered, unfettered, and unstopped. The National Convention, therefore, has been authorised to go on.

Reacting, Prince Secondus said the he will appeal the ruling because impunity must be resisted.

In a statement by his media assistant, Ike Abonyi, the suspended National Chairman said he will respect the position of the court even though he disagreed totally with it.

The statement reads: “Even as the substantive case is still pending at the Court of Appeal, I have instructed my lawyers to study the ruling with a view to appealing it immediately as no abuse of the constitution of our dear party should be allowed to stand.

“”The issue is not about Prince Uche Secondus but about the sanctity of our party constitution and core democratic principles of justice and rule of law not only in PDP but in our democracy. No impunity must be condoned.

“I will therefore wish to emphasise the fact that I did not take the party to court and would not have done that. As a foundation member of this party who has served at various levels, State Chairman, Chairman of state Chairmen, National Organising Secretary, Deputy National Chairman, Acting National Chairman and now National Chairman, am very much abreast with the workings of the party.

“I have been a witness to how much harm litigations have done to our party in the past and as a result I have been a strong advocate against settling issues in courts.

“This was why I resisted and rejected entreaties of those who wanted me to go to court to halt these forces when it was obvious that they were determined to disrupt my leadership and truncate my tenure in office with the sole objective of hijacking the party for their selfish ulterior motives.

“To allow this travesty to stand is to reduce our beloved party to a level where anybody can wake up overnight and remove officers against the proscribed constitutional process and the National Chairman for that matter. And purporting to use the judiciary through an ex-parte order to legitimize the same.

“As a major practitioner in our democracy, I am duty bound to protect and defend the sanctity of the provisions of our constitution of which I am the custodian”.

At a press conference in Abuja before the court verdict, chairman, PDP National Convention Organising Committee and governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, expressed optimism that the verdict will favour the party because moving ahead, PDP has not faulted any provisions of the constitution.

He assured party members that all the subcommittees have been mobilised and they are fully prepared to the satisfaction of the convention committee.

Speaking on the efficacy of the party’s consensus arrangement, Fintiri said all the positions being contested for are fully occupied.

He disclosed that 18 of the 21 contestable positions at the convention have been fully settled through consensus arrangement.

This leaves three positions- Deputy National Chairman (South), National Auditor and National Youth Leader to be contested, adding that ballot mode of voting has been adopted for all positions, including the three contestable posts.

Contesting for Deputy National Chairman South position are former National Secretary of the party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and former National Vice Chairman (South West), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja who is said to be enjoying the backing of governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.

For the position of National Auditor are three contenders from Anambra State – Okechukwu Obiechina Daniel, Ikechukwu Samson Nwosu and Hon (Mrs.) Chibuogwu Benson- Oraelosi, while for the position of National Youth Leader are Muhammed Kadade Suleiman and Usman Elkudan.

The chairman said: “The result of the screening committee was submitted to me yesterday and all the positions and individuals that were disqualified were further upheld by the Appeal Committee.

“At the moment, we’re making efforts to reconcile most of our contestants so that we can streamline them to have a better Convention, which will be hitch free and deepen our chances for 2023.

“Most of the positions as at today (Friday), except for three will not be contested.

“What we’ll be doing tomorrow along with you, the problem has reduced significantly and we will keep posting as the events unfold.

“At the moment we are talking to those that are contesting for the Office of the Deputy National Chairman South and those that are contesting for office of the Auditor, and those that are now contesting for Office Youth Leader. The rest have been streamlined and the consensus looks okay”.

Making clarification on the issue of Chief Okey Muo – Aroh, disqualified aspirant for the post of National Secretary, he said the contestant contravened the party’s zoning principle as the position of National Secretary was zoned to Imo and Abia states while Muo -Aroh comes from Anambra State.

“I believe is the gentleman that bought the form for the Office of the National Secretary, clearly we have a section that defines zoning in our Constitution. That position was zoned to the south, micro zoned to South East and in the south, the caucus met and zoned it to Abia and Imo whereas the Office of the Auditor was zoned to Enugu and Anambra.

“The gentleman in question is from Anambra. We should have expected him as the party man to respect the zoning and the arrangements of the caucus in the zone and for him to contest the office of the Auditor which was zoned to his state but he moved to Imo and Abia to buy form where he does not come from”, Fintiri explained.

He also said at least a total of 3600 delegates are expected at the party summit.

However, Fintiri said after the successful completion of the convention, the National Working Committee (NWC) will stay in office till December 9 when its tenure ends.

He said: “There will be no vacuum because we’re not truncating anybody’s tenure, we only called for an early convention which is also in the provision of the Constitution.

“But that does not mean that because we are having early convention we are terminating the tenure of the present NWC, they will still be asked to serve their time until December 9.

“If anything it will give them a better chance to interface and have a smooth transition so that they will understand them well and handover the party”, he said.