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Court voids Anambra PDP polls
FELIX UKA,
Awka
THE crisis
rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State deepened yesterday
as the state high court sitting in Ogidi, nullified the election of Mr. Uchenna
Emordi as state party chairman.
The court had last June 30, restrained the
party from holding the election for the substantive chairmanship of the party.
The order followed a suit filed before the
court by three state executives of the party, Princess Chinwe Onyeso, the woman
leader; Mr. Emma Obele, assistant legal adviser; and the financial secretary Mr.
Oguguo Nwosu who alleged that they were sidelined in the conduct of elections
meant to elect a substantive chairman of the party.
The National Working Committee (NWC),
however, last Monday supervised the election of the state chairman during which
Emordi emerged winner, though the faction loyal to the state governor, Dr. Chris
Ngige was not at the poll.
Piqued by this development, the trio of
Onyeso, Obele and Nwosu went back to Ogidi High Court praying that the party
should be charged with contempt of court.
In his ruling, however, Justice Obi
Ernest-Egbuna, declined to make any orders regarding the alleged contempt on the
grounds that the plaintiffs did not file Form 48 with which such orders could be
considered.
However, the judge ruled as follows:
The meeting held by the defendants, Mr.
Ivy Obi-Okoye former chairman of PDP and Mr. R.O.C. Okpalaoka and others on
August 30, 2004 against the court order (injunction) and for purpose of election
of the state chairman in Anambra is hereby set aside and the parties returned to
status quo ante.
"All elections made of Mr. Uchenna Emordi
and all other persons elected or selected at the meeting of August 30, 2004, is
hereby set aside as null and void.
"Pending hearing and completion of the
appeal filed on this suit by fifth and sixth defendants (Obi-Okoye and Okpalaoka)
the parties are ordered to maintain status quo as existed as at August
23, 2004, and that the defendants are hereby restrained from holding any other
meeting anywhere for the purposes of election of chairman or any other position
until the suit is completed and disposed of."
The judge said at the end of four months
stay of proceedings granted the defendants who sought for that to prosecute
their appeal, hearing on the subsisting suit would commence.
The defendants were not in court but one
Mr. S.C. Obi-Anodo, wrote to the court, saying that he had a suit in an Abuja
court hence they could not appear for the defendants.
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