Court of Appeal Upturns Judgment That Brought In Silas Onu As Chairman Ebonyi PDP

*Says FHC Lacks Jurisdiction To Entertain The Matter
*Suit  Not A Pre-Election Matter

A Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Monday, struck out the suit that brought in Silas Onu, as the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in Ebonyi State. 

In a unanimous judgement delivered by a 3-man panel in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/444/2022, the Court upheld the submissions of Paul Harris Ogbole, SANwho led the team of lawyers for the Appellant, Mr. Tochukwu Okorie, and consequently allowed the appeal against the judgement of the Federal High Court, coram A.R Mohammed, J. which had declared Joseph Silas Onu as the Ebonyi State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the preliminary objection filed by Joseph Onu against the competence of the appeal and held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the first place.

It held that the suit is not a pre-election matter as defined and or contemplated by the 1999 Constitution and, accordingly, struck it out.

With this valid judgement of the Court of Appeal, Mr. Tochukwu Okorie’s election as the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State has, once again, been validated.

Recall that in a suit filed by Silas Onu, challenging the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party in Ebonyi state, Justice Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, sacked Tochukwu Okorie as the Chairman of the PDP in the State; holding that Okorie was not validly nominated to contest as Chairman of the PDP in Ebonyi State.

Justice Mohammed found that Okorie submitted his form three days after the party deadline for the submission of such form.

“It is the finding of this court that the 2nd defendant (Okorie) who submitted his nomination form on October 4, 2021, instead of October 1, 2021, contrary to the guidelines of the conduct of congresses, is not validly nominated.

“It is the opinion of this court that the 2nd defendant, who was indolent in submitting his nomination form as provided in the guidelines issued by the PDP, who despite this failure, was still declared and returned elected, cannot be allowed to benefit from his wrongdoing”, the court had ruled.