The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned earlier rulings by the Federal High Court that had barred three top leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from participating in the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings. The leaders involved are former PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus, former Rivers State Governor Celestine Omehia, and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Austin Opara.
In a series of rulings delivered on Friday, the Court of Appeal panel, consisting of three judges, unanimously ruled in favor of the appeals filed by Secondus, Omehia, and Opara. The appellate court declared that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to handle the matter in the first place.
According to the appeal court, the attendance and participation of members in internal party meetings fall exclusively under the control of the party itself and are not matters that should be brought before the court. The court stressed that such internal affairs of a political party are beyond the reach of judicial intervention.
Furthermore, the appeal court invalidated all proceedings and decisions previously made by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, including the ex-parte orders issued on April 5, which had restrained the three leaders from attending further PDP meetings.
