Court joins PDP in members’ suit

Bolaji Ogundele, Port Harcourt - 12.03.2008

MEMBERS of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State whose candidature as local government chairmen from an earlier primary election of the party were terminated by a court decision last year have got a reprieve as a Port Harcourt High Court has joined the PDP as a party in the case.

Twenty members of the party, who last year emerged chairmanship standard bearers for the local government elections, had gone to court to restrain the state Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) from replacing them with candidates who emerged from a subsequent party primaries.

A Port Harcourt High Court had in a suit filed by a member of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Chidi Lloyd, nullified the electoral body set up by the former governor of the state, Mr. Celestine Omehia, after it began the process that produced standard bearers for the council polls.

Governor Rotimi Amaechi had, after his victory at the Supreme Court, constituted a new electoral body, which repeated the entire process and scheduled the local government election for March 29.

Counsel for the plaintiffs, Chief Otonye Amachree, had prayed the court for an order joining the PDP as defendant in the matter.

Opposing the application, counsel for the RSIEC, Mr. Emenike Ebete, had described the application as lacking in substance.

According to him, the plaintiffs had not provided enough facts to enable them join the PDP, arguing that they had only made allegations against a former chairman of the party, Chief Uche Secondus, and not the party itself.

“We are saying that if anybody should be joined, it should be the former chairman and not the party,” he said.

In his ruling, Justice Peter Agumagu, said it was necessary to allow proper representation in court so that judgment could be binding.