From left, Omenha, Secondus and Opara.

From left, Omenha, Secondus and Opara.

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

The ban on former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus and some other prominent chieftains of the party has been set aside.

Court of Appeal of Nigeria sitting in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, nullified the ban.

According to online reports, also to benefit from the ban that has been lifted are the ex-Rivers governor, Celestine Omehia and one-time deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Austin Opara others who are Pro-Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential candidate of PDP in the 2023 elections.

They were all banned from attending the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the PDP or participating in its deliberations or proceedings in any form sequel to an ex-parte Court order by a  Federal High Court.

That ruling prevented the trio from participating in the last PDP NEC meeting that was held in early 2024.

But on Friday, the three justices of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria unanimously merited the appeal that was filed by the former PDP national chairman, ex-governor and former deputy speaker.

It ruled that the lower court lacked the power to hear such a case.

The Court of Appeal of Nigeria therefore, declared the judgment of the Federal High Court null and void.

With this ruling, the appellate court has set aside Justice Inyang Ekwo’s ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The appellate court ruled that issues related to party members’ attendance at meetings or participation in activities are internal affairs to be determined by the political party, not the court.

In its wisdom, the court held that such issues are not justiciable, meaning they are not suitable for judicial review, and the court lacks jurisdiction to hear them.

It would be recalled that in the prelude to the 2023 Presidential primaries, during and after the general elections prominent politicians in the state who keyed behind Atiku Abubakar became “political enemies” of Nyesom Wike, Minister of Federal Capital Territory.

Wike was instrumental in the expulsion of Uche Secondus, from the party. Secondus, from Andoni’s local government area of Rivers State, was the former National Chairman of the party.