The embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, has headed for the Supreme Court to challenge the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, which on Friday gave a nod for the party’s National Convention to hold in Abuja on Saturday (today).
He said impunity, which he alleged had driven the party to the precipice and threatened its internal democracy and unity, must be resisted at all costs.
He said if those who orchestrated and foisted what he described as an avoidable crisis on the party had listened to “wise counsel of party leaders and elders who advised the withdrawal of cases, this situation would have been avoidable. I wish the party well as always.”
The Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State had on Friday dismissed the appeal filed by Secondus seeking an interim injunction to restrain the PDP from conducting its National Convention scheduled for October 30 and 31, 2021 in Abuja.
The three-man appeal panel ruled that Secondus lacked the power to stop the party’s scheduled convention, pointing out that the national leadership of the party was not an exclusive preserve of the appellant (Secondus).
Justice Kolawole refused to award costs against the appellant as sought by the respondents, adding that the application was not an abuse of court processes.
“The appellant motion on notice filed on October 27, 2021, fails and is hereby dismissed. By the power of this decision, the 6th respondent is empowered on the authority of this court’s decision to hold its national convention without any hindrance,” Justice Kolawale declared.
Speaking to journalists outside the courtroom, counsel for Secondus, Mr Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), said the dismissal of his client’s application was not the end of it as the instructions of the appeal were still alive.
He said, “The court has directed that the PDP can continue with the national convention. However, the instruction is that the appeal continues and depending on the outcome of the appeal, if it succeeds then it has an impact on whatever decision is taken on the national convention.
Secondus in a statement released by his Media Adviser, Ike Abonyi, said the ongoing case was not about him but the need to protect the sanctity of the party’s constitution.
The statement said, “I have just been briefed on the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt dismissing my motion to halt the National Convention of the party. I respect the position of the court even though I disagree totally with it.
“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 as state chairman, chairman of state chairmen, National Organising Secretary, Deputy National Chairman, Acting National Chairman and now National Chairman, I 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.”
He said he resisted pressures mounted on him to go to court to stop those planning against him because of his love for the party, adding that he did not want to be seen as someone who took the party to court.He added, “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.
