The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the rulings made by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which had prohibited three senior members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from attending or participating in any capacity in the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings.
The PDP chieftains are the party’s former National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus; the sacked Rivers Governor, Mr. Celestine Omehia; and a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Austin Opara.
In three separate judgments on Friday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the appeals filed by Secondus, Omehia, and Opara for being meritorious.
The Court ruled that decisions regarding attendance and participation in party meetings and activities should be left to the discretion of the political party itself, rather than being dictated by the courts.
It held that the Federal High Court should not have entertained the cases because it lacked the jurisdiction to hear and determine suits dealing with issues within the realm of the political party’s internal affairs.
The Court of Appeal subsequently declared the entire proceedings of the three cases held at the Federal High Court to be null and void, thereby invalidating them.
The appellate court also declared the ex-parte restraining orders Justice Ekwo issued on April 5 void and set them aside.
Details later…..
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