Amaechis Loyalists Bid to Reclaim Rivers PDP Exco Suffers Setback The battle to reclaim the structure of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State ahead of the 2015 general election suffered some setbacks Tuesday at a Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja as some loyal members of the state executive approached the court with applications seeking to join in the matter claiming that they did not authorise Chief Godspower Ake, the sacked former chairman of the state executive, who instituted the appeal on behalf of himself and other members, to file the appeal. In their respective applications before the court, Evelyn Nkechi Weke, an Ex-Officio member of the state executive committee of the state chapter of the party, as well as Mr. Emmanuel Utchay, the Assistant Legal Officer, asked the court to join them to enable them have the locus standi to ask that the appeal be struck out. They claimed that the appeal was incompetent having not been filed with their consent as members of the state executive on whose behalf the sacked former chairman allegedly filed the appeal. They both insisted that Ake misrepresented their interest in instituting the appeal without their authorisation. In her application, Weke contended that Ake ought to have brought the appeal in his personal or private capacity, noting that there was no common interest in the subject matter of litigation to warrant his initiating the appeal in a representative capacity. She stated that other members of the supposed state executive committee of the PDP in Rivers State had no intention or basis to pursue the appeal and wanted the court to make an order striking out the appeal for being incompetent. Alternatively, Weke asked the court to hold that the appeal was filed on behalf of persons whose identities were not known or disclosed or on behalf of members of non juristic entity referred to as State Executive Committee of PDP in Rivers State and to strike it out, or to make an order granting leave for her to withdraw the appeal filled on her behalf without her consent. Attempts by Chief Joseph Daudu (SAN), who represented Ake, to persuade the court to ignore the applications of the exco members seeking to join the matter and to hear his application for leave of the Court to Appeal to reverse the FCT High Courts decision that sacked his client from office, was rebuffed by the court which held that the applications brought by the exco members were already before the court and that they were fundamental to resolving the matter. Daudu had argued that the applications filed by the exco members were calculated to frustrate the hearing of the appeal which he urged the court to resist. He said: This is an appeal from a High Court and nothing has changed in the parties before the court. It does not lie in the mouth of the applicants to say that they did not authorize the appellant to institute this appeal. They should not be allowed to frustrate and truncate this proceeding which I think is what they are here to do. However, the three-man panel of the court observed that the applications had been filed and had something to do with the appellants. The court said the applications were important and would be heard. Similarly, Chief Godwin Obla (SAN), who represented the new Chairman of the party and the Secretary, Chief Obuah Felix Amaechi and Chief Walter Ibibia Opuene, respectively, told the court that his clients had filed a preliminary objection challenging the competency of the appeal. He said 27 out of the 28 persons and their positions in the state PDP executive committee that the appellant purportedly to represent were not affected by the decision of the lower court which sacked him (Ake), and that these persons were not deprived of their positions in the partys executive committee in the state. Obla noted that the 27 persons not so affected by the lower courts decision were not aggrieved by the decision. He further contended that the names of the exco members whom the appellant purported claim to represent were not listed in the notice of appeal which the appellant filed. He also informed the court that Ake and his sponsors were no longer members of the PDP having joined another party which they called New PDP and that the PDP which was a party in the appeal was not the new PDP. The consel urged the court to set aside the record of appeal compiled and forwarded to the court in connection with the appeal as well as the brief of argument filed by the appellant and the notice and grounds of appeal filed thereto. The court, thereafter, directed parties to file written addresses on the issues raised and adjourned further proceedings to January 15, 2014. Following the court order sacking the Ake-led executives loyalists of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and the inauguration of the Chief Obuah Amechi Felix - executive supported by the supervising Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, Ake had approached the appellate court seeking to stay the execution of the judgment which sacked him and other members of his committee from office. An Abuja High Court, had on April 15 declared Obuah and Ibibia as validly nominated and elected chairman and secretary respectively and sacked the Ake- led committee from office.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 09:50:20 +0000
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