Efforts by elders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to quell the leadership crisis may have been in vain, as a High Court in Rivers State issued an interim injunction yesterday, preventing Uche Secondus from continuing as Chairman of the party pending the hearing and determination of a suit challenging his continued stay in office.
Secondus has been ordered to stop posing as a member of the PDP due to his suspension from the party, according to the ruling.
However, the embattled chairman of the main opposition party has stated that if taken to court, he and the party will defend themselves.
The orders were issued by Justice O. Gbasam of the Degema Division of a High Court in Rivers State, sitting in Port Harcourt, while ruling on an exparte application filed by some PDP chieftains in the state.
Ibeawuchi Alex, Dennis Amadi, Emmanuel Stephen, and Umezirike Onucha were the plaintiffs in the PHC/2183/CS/2021 suit, while Secondus and PDP were the first and second respondents, respectively.
Mr. H. A. Bello, who argued the exparte application on behalf of the plaintiffs, urged the court to grant his clients’ reliefs in the interest of justice, while also requesting that the matter be heard during the court’s vacation due to the urgency of the case.
The prayers included a request that Secondus be barred from serving as the PDP’s national chairman while on suspension from the party.
In a brief ruling, Justice Gbasam granted the applicants’ requests for relief and issued an order “restraining the 1st defendant from parading himself as a member of the 2nd defendant or National Chairman of the 2nd 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 or performing the functions of National Chairman of the 2nd defendant or calling, attending, or presiding over any meeting
He was also told not to “call for any ward, local government, or state congresses of the second defendant, or set up committees for such congresses, or participate in any 2nd defendant activity whatsoever, while on suspension as a member of the 2nd defendant, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”
The restraining order, as well as all other orders, as well as the originating summons and motion on notice, will be served on Secondus by substituted means, according to Justice Gbasam.
The order and all other court documents were to be pasted on the gate of Secondus’ residence at number 1, William Jombo street, old GRA, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as well as published in a national newspaper, according to the ruling.
The court held that the court processes had been properly served on Secondus after being pasted at his home and published in a national daily.
The failure of Secondus’ National Working Committee (NWC) to hold a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting recently directed by the PDP’s expanded Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting could be linked to the latest court action against him.
At a recent meeting to resolve the standoff between Secondus and some aggrieved PDP leaders, including Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, the BOT decided that Secondus should remain in office and that a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting be called to elect the members of the party’s National Convention, which is set for the end of October, 2021.
Despite the fact that the NWC quickly advanced reasons why the NEC could not hold, litigation was not anticipated.
There were two opposing groups before the BoT’s extended meeting: those plotting Secondus’ removal and those who wanted him to stay until the end of his term in December 2021. The meeting’s purpose was to discuss the party’s impending implosion as a result of the intractable leadership crisis.
Previously, the PDP had been rocked by the defection of three governors – David Umahi of Ebonyi State, Ben Ayade of Cross River State, and Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State – as well as members of the National Assembly elected on its platform. They’ve all switched allegiances to the APC (APC).
The party’s mood was deteriorating, and the PDP had lost 17 senators, which was causing concern. The party’s representation in the House of Representatives had also decreased. As a result, some members believed that sacking the Secondus-led NWC was the best way to resolve the crisis.
However, the crisis took a turn for the worse when seven national deputies resigned in a single day. Deputy National Financial Secretary, Deputy National Organising Secretary, Deputy National Legal Adviser, Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Deputy Woman Leader, and Deputy National Auditor were among those who resigned.
The resignation ruffled NWC feathers, and it was like a joke gone too far, as it elicited a variety of reactions from stakeholders. The first was the PDP governors’ forum, which summoned a meeting of its members to resolve the crisis, led by Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the governor of Sokoto State.
Senator Walid Jubrin, Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, called an expanded board meeting in response to a series of meetings and a determination to resolve the crisis in order to save the party.
Some speculated that the new wave of crisis that has engulfed the PDP was linked to speculations that Secondus might seek re-election at the national convention in December. However, some stakeholders, including Secondus’ governor, Wike, were not pleased.
In the long run, Walid Jibrin, the chairman of the BoT, identified numerous problems in the PDP that required immediate attention.
There was a lack of cohesion within and among major stakeholders, which necessitated the intervention of the BoT, the party’s highest advisory body.
Jibrin urged his fellow PDP members to seize the moment, but he stressed that the party must first get its house in order by beginning proper preparations for the upcoming elective convention, which will elect the party’s national leaders, who will lead the party in the 2023 general election.
He warned that the PDP’s expected electoral success should not be sacrificed on the altar of personal interests and unnecessary in-house fighting aimed at sabotaging the party’s goals, noting that the PDP ruled for 16 years in contrast to the current government’s total failure, which he claimed was marked by incompetence and total insecurity.
Jibrin’s perspective was shared by other stakeholders and members of the BoT. It was a brilliant move that ultimately dictated the meeting’s terms of engagement.
Senator David B. Mark, Prof. Jerry Gana, Dr. Iyochia Ayu, Alhaji Sule Lamido, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Senator Ayim Pius Ayim, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Senator Adolphus Wabara, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Dr. Ibrahim H. Dankwambo, Senator Helen Esuene, Hajiya Zainab Main
Even before the meeting began, the plot to assassinate Secondus and members of the NWC was foiled by these interventions.
The BoT members, NEC members, and other PDP stakeholders built a bridge over the troubled waters by taking that critical step toward a resolution.
Unfortunately, some PDP members had already taken a hardline stance, and it was only a matter of time before the simmering cauldron of repressed rage erupted in raw emotions.
One of the first actions taken by the BoT was to convene an emergency meeting with PDP governors, the NWC, and other key stakeholders.
Those who wanted Secondus to stay in office until the end of his term argued that removing him from office without cause would leave a bad taste in the mouth. However, his opponents left him with one foot in the doorway of opportunity. They wanted him to publicly abandon his bid for a second term.
A group led by Wike was formed to enforce this position. Unfortunately, this highlighted how much Secondus’ removal meant to the Rivers governor, prompting him to attend the BoT meeting for the first time.
With Jibril’s agenda insisting that the meeting was critical to the party’s survival in 2023, it was clear that the meeting would not fulfill the anti-Secondus elements’ agenda.
When given the chance, a visibly relieved Secondus thanked the BoT for intervening and giving him the chance to live another day. He praised the party’s reconciliation committee, which is led by former Senate President Bukola Saraki, and mentioned how he attempted to resolve the issue of the NWC deputies resigning.
He added that the party’s internal conflict resolution mechanism was quickly activated to ensure that the issues did not escalate to the point where the party’s reputation was jeopardized.
After more than four hours, the meeting came to a close. Senator David Mark, who spoke at the meeting, said the governors, members of the BoT, members of the National Assembly, all members of the NWC, former governors, and former ministers agreed to form a committee to address the issues holistically.
When Diran Odeyemi, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary and one of the officers who had tendered their resignations, withdrew his resignation and pledged to work with the Secondus-led NWC to ensure a successful national convention, it was a sign that the crisis was about to be resolved.
