RAPHAEL EDE captures the views of some Peoples Democratic Party ((PDP) chieftains who described the court’s injunction as “Market Place Injunction”
The Enugu state governor Sullivan Chime in his desperation to control the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in his quest to make his ex-Chief of Staff, Ifeoma Nwobodo as a senator, had in an unusual way obtained a court order from the state High Court restraining the party from using or acting on the list or names purported to be the list of delegates elected during the recent ward and local government congresses, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit on the matter.
According to the Electoral Act section 187 sub-section 11, “Northing in this section shall empower the holding of primaries or general election under this Act pending the determination”.
Regardless of the Electoral Act, the order is coming barely two weeks after an earlier order by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that restrained the national leadership of the party from tampering with the result of the November 1, 2014 ward congresses conducted by the Elder David Aja-led State Executive Committee of the party in Enugu State. The order is yet to be vacated. These are the views of some delegates of the party on the court injunction.
Ruling on a suit filed by one Charles Okafor challenging the validity of the alleged congress, the Court presided over by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Innocent Umezuluike, also ordered an accelerated hearing of the substantive suit, citing the urgency of the matter.
He further granted the plaintiff seven days within which to file his statement of claim and serve same on the defendant (PDP) and granted the defendant fourteen days to file its statement of defence and serve same on the plaintiff. The matter was adjourned to 8th December, 2014 for definite hearing.
It would be recalled that the Acting State Chairman of the party, Elder David Aja had said that the ward congress was conducted “peacefully” in Enugu State and proceeded to publish the names of the three-man delegates elected during the congresses held in 260 wards in the state.
But the Chairman of Governor Sullivan Chime faction of the PDP, Chief Ikeje Asogwa had countered the Acting Chairman’s claim, saying that the congress never held in Enugu due to the non-arrival of members of the electoral panel and materials from Abuja on the scheduled date.
The two conflicting orders of the Abuja and Enugu courts, which are said to have equal jurisdiction, has created further confusion in the party and the national leadership is expected to decide on the way forward.
But the development has confirmed the collapse of the truce brokered by President Goodluck Jonathan between the warring parties.
It has further confirmed the speculation that Governor Chime and his men may move to another party to conduct the 2015 elections since the order may have been intended to prevent the PDP from fielding any candidate in Enugu State.
Chime had in 2011 in a like manner got an injunction from the same state high court on the eve of the National convention of the PDP, which sacked the National Chairman of the party, Okwesilieze Nwodo who is from Enugu state from parading himself as the chairman. This order favored him as his re-election was smooth.
“Market Place Injunction”
But some Party chieftains who reacted to the fresh court order said that the intention of the plaintiff might not be realized as the interim injunction would not last beyond 14 days.
While delegates elected at the November 1 Ward Congresses of the Party, PDP, have flayed the ex-parte order granted by the Court describing the order as ‘Market Place Injunction’.
Reacting on behalf of the body of Ward Delegates elected at the Ward Congresses in question, a member of the three-man Ward Delegates that emerged from Umuabi Ward in Udi Local Government Area of the State, Hon. Emeka Aneke described the ex-parte injunction granted by the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Innocent Umezulike as a “gross abuse of court process and a typical market place injunction”
Hon. Aneke, who said the delegates were not surprised at such “market place injunction”, observed that the State Chief Judge abused court processes by granting an injunction upon an earlier court order on the same matter, which is being heard by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He said: “We the elected Ward Delegates take exceptions to this gross abuse of court processes by the Enugu State Chief Judge. It is a public knowledge that the matter is a subject of litigation at Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which had granted an injunction restraining the PDP and its principal agents from receiving any other result of the November 1, Ward Delegates election of the party other than the names submitted by the acting Chairman of the party, Elder David Aja and the Electoral Committee of the party.
“This however did not come to us as a surprise, especially given an earlier the online reports accusing the Chief judge and the Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime of plotting to use a kangaroo injunction to truncate the peace deal brokered by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
“It could be recalled that APC governors had boasted that they had some members of the PDP Governors’ Forum working for them to frustrate the party in the forthcoming general election before decamping, and this second injunction coming on the heels of an earlier injunction and various subterranean moves seeking to undermine the Acting Chairman of the PDP in the State, Elder David Aja, from carrying out his legitimate duties leaves no one in doubt that Governor Sullivan Chime is indeed an enemy within.
“We are now truly convinced that although the Governor claims to have accepted not to join the race for the Enugu West Senatorial District, he is hell-bent on working with opposition forces to ensure that the PDP does not present candidates for the 2015 general elections, even as we have it on good authority that the Governor and his men are making plans to field candidates on another party platform in the State”.
Hon. Aneke who alleged that the decision not to properly serve the PDP before ruling on ex-parte motion, was a deliberate attempt by the piper to rig the judicial processes in favour of its paymaster as was the case in the Enugu ‘chicken impeachment’ and a similar controversial order restraining the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Victor Umeh from parading himself as leader of the party.
“They deliberately served the Enugu PDP instead of the national headquarters to ensure that the PDP did not make an appearance at the court and we are already sending a petition to the National Judicial Council to investigate the processes leading up to this kabu-kabu injunction and the habitual abuse of ex-parte injunction by one man”, he added.
Hon. Aneke asked the PDP faithful and aspirants in Enugu “not to lose sleep over this contrived order as the three-man delegates elected in all the 260 wards of the State will on November 29th elect PDP’s candidates for the House of Assembly election and proceed to elect candidates for the National Assembly and governorship elections in the State”.
“If there was no Ward Congress, on what basis did Governor Chime and his group participate in the last Saturday’s Local Government Congress where some of their loyalists were elected as national Delegates by three-man delegates elected on November 1 and on what basis did the Appeal Panel seat on the outcome of the Ward Congress?” Aneke further queried.
