The
Chairman of the National Convention Planning Committee of the Peoples
Democratic Party and the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, said despite
the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja, the party’s convention would hold.
Wike
described the verdict of the court in Abuja on Tuesday as an interlocutory
injunction, adding that a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had earlier on
the same day delivered a judgment that the PDP convention should hold.
The
governor explained that the leadership of the PDP was in Port Harcourt,
maintaining that nobody could scuttle the democratic process in the party.
“The
PDP is ready for its national convention. Based on the court judgment of
July 4, 2016, we are going ahead with the convention.
“The
judgment of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt today says the national
convention should go ahead. We are also aware that the judgment of the Federal
High Court in Port Harcourt also validates the judgment of July 4, 2016.
“Again,
what the Abuja court only gave was an injunction and the court in Port Harcourt
gave a judgment that the PDP convention should hold on August 17, 2016,” he
said.
Justice
Abang had on Tuesday turned the interim order, stopping the PDP national
convention, into an interlocutory injunction that would subsist till when the
substantive suit was determined.
He
adjourned the hearing of the case till September 7, 2016, but gave a stern
warning to INEC chairman not to monitor the convention.
The
judge also ordered the Inspector-General of Police to enforce his order.
Justice
Abang, who faulted the decision of the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal
High Court to assume jurisdiction on the case relating to the PDP convention,
also directed that his order be endorsed with Form 48 (notice of disobedience
of court order) and served on INEC chairman.
Justice
Abang said failure by INEC or any of the defendants to comply with his order
would ‘‘attract disciplinary action provided the plaintiffs know what to do.”
He
said the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee members, who were on Tuesday
joined as the third to the ninth respondents, adopted a strategy of not filing
a counter-affidavit, adding that other processes were not found in the court
file.
“They
must sink and float with their legal strategy,” the judge said.
Justice
Abang said the request for an adjournment by their counsel, Mr. Yunus Ustaz
(SAN) and Chief Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), after the plaintiffs’ counsel, Chief
Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), had moved a motion for an interlocutory injunction, was
an afterthought.
Justice
Abang ruled, “ The facts deposed to by the plaintiffs are credible and
deserving to be granted the application in the overall interest of justice. I
so hold…
“I
make the following orders:
“An
order of interlocutory injunction is hereby made restraining the defendants
(the nine of them), their servants, agents, howsoever named from conducting the
national convention of the PDP and from supervising or monitoring same under
any guise and for electing any national officer of the (second) defendant
(PDP), and for recognising same in any manner whatsoever, pending the
determination of the substantive suit.
“An
order of interlocutory injunction is, hereby, made restraining the PDP from
presenting anybody and from sponsoring anybody for election into its offices
and holding national convention, conference, whatever name for the purpose of
electing national officers of the second defendant, pending the determination
of this suit…
“An
order of interlocutory injunction is, hereby, made restraining INEC from
monitoring the national convention of the PDP scheduled for Port Harcourt on
Wednesday, August 17, 2016, or any other day and from accepting, publishing or
recognising, conference or convention howsoever named being planned by the
second defendant.
“The
Inspector-General of Police shall enforce the order until all applications are
disposed of.
“The
plaintiffs shall endorse Form 48 and serve all the defendants, especially INEC,
to accompany the order.
“Learned
counsel for INEC shall inform the chairman of INEC of the court’s decision and
failure to comply with the order of the court will attract disciplinary action
against any party in disobedience, provided the plaintiffs know what to do.
“Any
party that fails to comply with the subsisting order of this court shall have
himself to blame. Nobody should bring himself into direct confrontation
with this court.”
The
judge blamed the Port Harcourt division of the Federal High Court for the
conflicting orders.
He
said the attitude of his colleague had been condemned by the Supreme Court in
2004.
“This
unenviable situation would have been avoided if the judge in the Port Harcourt
division of the court had refused to assume jurisdiction over a case filed on
August 9 after the Abuja division was already handling a similar case filed in
July.
He
said, “Therefore, the Port Harcourt division of the Federal High Court cannot
make an order neutralising the order made by this court.”
Meanwhile,the Federal High Court sitting in Port
Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday insisted that the July 4, 2016 ruling of
Justice M. Liman that removed the former acting National Chairman of the
Peoples Democratic People, Ali Modu Sheriff, remained valid.’’
Justice
Watila said, “This court will not shy away from protecting the sanctity of its
judgment. The court has held that the appointment of the PDP National Caretaker
Committee is valid.
Justice
Watila stated that court records showed that the proceedings and order of
August 10, 2016, and the interlocutory injunction of August 15, 2016, were
served on the defendants with proof of service.
Warning
that disobedience to court orders could cause anarchy, Justice Watila stated
that the National Caretaker Committee of the PDP remained the executive
authority in all matters concerning the party.
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