Nigeria: PDP Crisis Deepens as Court Bars Secondus From Parading Self as National Chairman

A Rivers State High Court on Monday issued an interim injunction restraining Uche Secondus from parading himself as the National Chairman and member of Nigeria’s opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Justice. O. Gbasam’s order will appear to further deepen the crisis rocking the PDP and its embattled Chairman, Secondus, who’s been fighting hard to retain his position.

While he was given the option of organising a convention in October, reports suggest Secondus insisted on completing his tenure.

The court however granted the order following a suit filed by Ibeawuchi Ernest Alex, Dennis Nna Amadi, Emmanuel Stephen and Umezirike Onucha against Secondus as the first defendant and the PDP as the second defendant.

The judge, after the reading of the affidavit in support of the motion of ex parte as well as the written address, and after hearing the submission of H.A. Bello, counsel to applicants, granted the interim injunction restraining Secondus from parading as the national chairman of the PDP.

The order reads in part: “That an order restraining the 1st defendant from parading himself as a member of the 2nd defendant or the national chairman of the defendant or performing the functions of national chairman of the 2nd defendant or calling, attending or presiding over any meeting of the 2nd defendant or any committee of the 2nd defendant at the Ward, Local Government or State level or calling for any Ward, Local Government or State Congress of the 2nd defendant or setting up committees for such Congresses or participating in any activity of the 2nd defendant whatsoever whilst on suspension as a member of the 2nd defendant pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

The judge also granted leave to serve by substituted means the originating summons, motion on notice, all orders made by the court and all subsequent processes on the respondent by pasting same on the gate of his residence in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

The Secondus-led National Working Committee (NWC) was elected at the December 2017 national convention of the PDP held at the Eagle Square in Abuja, and his tenure of four years is supposed to end in December 2021.

The BoT and PDP Governors Forum had previously met separately to intervene in the crisis, especially after the resignation of seven members of the NWC.

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