Ebonyi PDP Chairman Rejects Appeal Court Sack, Heads For The Supreme Court Ebonyi PDP Chairman Rejects Appeal Court Sack, Heads For The Supreme Court
From Magnus Aluma, Abakaliki   Embattled chairman of the Ebonyi State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Silas Onu has objected to... Ebonyi PDP Chairman Rejects Appeal Court Sack, Heads For The Supreme Court

From Magnus Aluma, Abakaliki

 

Embattled chairman of the Ebonyi State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Silas Onu has objected to the ruling of the appeal court, sacking him as chairman of the party in the state. 

  

The appellate court had in a rulling, declared Mr.Tochukwu Okorie as substantive chairman of the party in the state. 

Africanewscircle gathered that Onu and Okorie contested for the chairmanship position of the party in Ebonyi State, held on October 16, 2021. 

  

In the election, Mr Okorie polled a total of 1,240, to defeat his rival, Onu who had 260 votes. But apparently dissatisfied, Onu quickly filed a suit challenging the process and listed the PDP and Okorie as first and second defendants respectively.  

  

He prayed the court to rule whether or not Okorie qualified to contest in the October 16 election, even after he did not submit his normination form within the stipulated deadline. 

  

The Federal High Court in Abuja agreed with him and sacked Tochukwu Okorie as chairman. 

  

Precising Judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed in a ruling on April 13, 2021, held that Okorie was not validly nominated to contest the election, having submitted his nomination form on October 4, 2021, instead of the October 1, 2021 deadline.  

  

Justice Mohamed held that Okorie cannot be allowed to benefit from his wrongdoing. 

  

“It is the opinion of this Court that the second defendant (Okorie) was indolent in submitting his nomination form as provided in the guidelines issued by the PDP,” the judge held.  

  

“Despite this failure, he was still returned and declared elected. He cannot be allowed to benefit from his wrongdoing,” he affirmed. 

  

The Judge further directed the party to issue a certificate of return to Onu, declaring him as the duly elected chairman of PDP in Ebonyi state.  

  

But Okorie had objected to the ruling of the Appellate court, arguing that the matter is an internal affair of the party, which the lower court should not have entertained in the first place.  

  

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on August 15 agreed with him as it nullified and set aside the judgement of the lower court on April 13, 2022. It therefore, sacked Mr. Silas Onu and restored Mr Toc hukwu Okorie as chairman of the party in the state. 

In a unanimous decision, the three-man panel of Justices held that the trial court erred when it assumed jurisdiction to hear the matter, being an internal affair of the party which is not justiceable. Onu in ground one is arguing that the Court of Appeal which commenced the appeal at the appellate court was a joint Notice of Appeal filed on April 22, 2022, by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), as the 1st Appellant and the instant Respondent, as the 2nd Appellant therein.  

  

The embattled chairman said that PDP had in the course of the Appeal, accepted the judgement of the trial Court and elected to discontinue it’s appeal. 

  

“The Court below struck out the name of the People’s Democratic Party from the appeal and the Respondent, proceeded to amend the joint Notice of Appeal and the joint Brief of Argument. The Respondent filed a new Notice of Appeal dated July 4, 2022, removing the People’s Democratic Party, who is a party directly affected by the appeal, from the proceeding”, he added. 

  

  

According to him, the suspension of the appeal by the PDP, renders the Joint Notice of Appeal incompetent and cannot be amended thereafter.  

  

“The removal of the People’s Democratic Party as a party to the appeal, altered the original parties to the appeal which is a re-hearing of the proceedings at the trial Court. The lower court ought to strike out the appeal as it lacked the jurisdiction to make any further Order therefrom as the Notice of Appeal became fundamentally directive and incompetent”, he maintained.   

  

He further argued that the Respondent in pursuing an appeal, has to file his appeal and make the People’s Democratic Party a Respondent, since it was a necessary party at the trial Court.  

  

Again, he recalled that the Respondent’s Notice of Appeal filed on July 4, 2022 upon which the appeal was heared and determined, is incompetent.  

  

The former PDP chairman maintained that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to hear and determine the Respondent’s appeal on the defective Joint Notice of Appeal filed on April 22, 2022, or the one filed by the Respondent on July 4, 2022. 

On another ground, Mr Onu said the Court of Appeal erred in law and thus arrived at a wrong decision when it held that the matter being an internal affair of the party, the trial court should not have entertained it.  

  

According to him, Sections 82(1) and (3) of the Electoral Act, 2022 regulates the activities of political parties, by setting a standard within which political parties must conduct their affairs, including congresses and conventions. 

  

He also quotes Section 84(14) of the Electoral Act 2022, which he said confers the Federal High Court the jurisdiction to hear and determine questions arising from the breach of any provision of the Electoral Act, 2022; the constitution and the guidelines of a political party. 

  

Onu, therefore, opined that the case before the trial Court bothers more on a complaint about the non-adherence to the guidelines for the conduct of congresses made by the People’s Democratic Party under its constitution. 

  

He further opined that political parties are bound by law to obey and respect their constitutions, and guidelines made under them. 

  

“It is trite law, as expounded by the Supreme Court in AGI v. PDP&ORS (2016)LPELR-42518(SC) that a Court will interfere in the affairs of a political party where the party has violated its constitutional provisions,” he noted. 

  

He said the trial Court established and exercised its jurisdiction upon ascertaining that the complaint was strictly about the non-adherence by the PDP to the provisions of its guidelines, which were made under its constitution. 

  

“It is also trite that where there is a violation of a right, there must be a remedy. The decision of the Court below has occassioned a miscarriage of justice”, he added.  

  

Mr Onu is therefore urging the apex Court to grant an order allowing his appeal. 

  

He is also seeking an order setting aside the decision of the Court of Appeal entered on August 15, 2022.  He further prayed the apex Court for an order restoring the decision of the trial Court, delivered on April 13, 2022, which declared him as the authentic chairman of the Party in the state. 

  

The opposition People’s Democratic Party in Ebonyi State has been factionalized, with Mr Silas Onu leading a faction; while Mr Tochukwu Okorie leads the other.  

  

  

Similarly, two governorship candidates also emerged from the party’s primary election. 

  

While a business mogul, Ifeanyi Odii emerged as the candidate from the primaries conducted by by the Onu-led faction, Senator Obinna Ogba, who currently represents Ebonyi Central Senatorial District, was produced from the primaries conducted by Tochukwu Okorie faction. 

  

Both of them are currently in a legal battle, for who becomes the authentic gubernatorial candidate of the party, come next year’s election. 

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