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Rivers PDP accused of sponsoring crisis among APC members

By Ann Godwin, Port Harcourt 
15 April 2023   |   3:39 am
Rivers State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state of sponsoring the melodrama and internal crisis among its members with the aim of frustrating APC’s petitions at the election petition tribunal.
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Rivers State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state of sponsoring the melodrama and internal crisis among its members with the aim of frustrating APC’s petitions at the election petition tribunal.

Recall that a High Court in Port Harcourt on Thursday, issued an order restraining the Chairman of the party in the state, Emeka Beke, from parading himself as such.

The court presided over by Justice D. S Kio also restrained Zubby Dike from further parading as the party’s legal adviser.

The court granted the party’s Deputy Chairman, Omiette Ederebo, prayer to act as the Chairman of state APC, pending the determination on the motion on notice.

This is as some members of party have continued to dump APC for PDP.

One of the defectors and candidates for Port-Harcourt Federal Constituency II, Collins Owhonda, told the newsmen that APC was not prepared for the 2023 election.

But the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Darlington Nwauju, while reacting to the development, yesterday, maintained that the internal crisis was absolutely sponsored by the PDP, calling on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate Justice D.S. Kio over the handling of Suit N0.PHC/925/CS/2023, on the issue of exparte injunction restraining two officers of the party.

Nwauju explained that there was no time the State Executive Council (SEC) or State Working Committee of the party met to deliberate, consider or endorse the setting up of any panel whatsoever to investigate or suspend any officer of the party, nor the state chairman or legal adviser.

He stated that it was criminal to drag the SCE into such shameful adventure, knowing the provisions of Article 21(D)(V) of the party’s constitution.

His words, “Those, who went to Justice D.S. Kio’s court did not have the blessing of the APC in Rivers to do so and we never donated authority to any one of them to act on our behalf.

“We condemn in very strong terms, the impersonation of a very important organ of our great party as we shall do all things within the law to correct this willful misrepresentation and scandalisation of our names and offices as duly elected officers of the party.”

The party, however, demanded that the NJC should take notice of the infractions committed by Justice D.S. Kio by willfully ignoring the provisions of Order 42 Rule 3(2) of the Rivers State Civil Procedure Rules 2023, which states inter alia, “No application for an injunction shall be made ex-parte unless the applicant files with it a motion on notice in respect of the application.

“That the NJC investigates the circumstances surrounding the granting of an ex-parte order in a political matter that is purely an (intra party affair) without urgency, taking cognisance of numerous judgments by the Supreme Court, which recognises the powers of political parties to regulate themselves as social clubs (Amina Augie JSC in Aguma vs APC 2021).

“That the NJC punishes the said Justice Kio for flouting/disregarding/abandoning its own circular to judges on the above subject matter. That the NJC punishes Kio for utterly ignoring the Article 21 of the APC Constitution, which should have pointed his court to the fact that due process was never followed in the suspension of these two officers of our party.

“We also want to bring to the notice of the NJC plans by the said Justice Kio to further expand the scope and shelf-life of the restraining Order by converting it into judgment in exchange for further financial gratifications.”

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