PDP S'EAST EXECUTIVE PASSES VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN METUH

The South-east zonal executive of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted Monday's court judgment, which removed the party's zonal chairman, Olisah Metu. An Anambra High Court, Justice Doc Amaechina, had given a restraining order in a suit brought by two chieftains of the party, Emeka Eze and Tim Egbuka, declaring that Metuh should stop contributing or interfering in the affairs of the South-east zone, pending the determination of the suit.

But after an emergency meeting yesterday in Enugu the party in a communiqué signed by the zonal secretary,Vincent Okpaleke, called on members of the party to discountenance the judgment. It, noted that a judgment of court of concurrent jurisdiction was superior to an ex parte order.

It cited an existing judgment of the High Court of Anambra State, Ihiala division, issued last November which declared that Metu was duly elected as the party's national vice chairman, South-east. Part of the communiqué reads: 'The South-east PDP has been informed of an ex parte order issued by Justice Amaechina of the Anambra State High Court, Awka division, wherein he restrained the National Working Vice Chairman of the PDP (South-east zone), Chief Barr. Olisa Metuh, from parading himself as the duly elected national vice chairman of the party, following a suit filed by Emeka Eze and Tim Egboka, agents of Chris Uba.'

'However prior to the ex parte order, there is an existing judgment of High Court of Anambra State, Ihiala division, issued on the 11th day of November, 2010, wherein Chief Barr. Olisa Metuh was declared as having been duly elected in March 2008 as the national vice chairman of the PDP South-east and was directed as the leader of South-east zonal working committee of the PDP to continue to perform the functions of the office of national vice chairman (South East) of the Peoples Democratic Party.

'It is trite law that a judgment of a court of concurrent jurisdiction is superior to an ex parte order. It is even moreso when the judgment is first in time. The right courses of action have been to appeal against the judgment and not to go to another court and seek an ex parte order on the same subject matter. Certainly the ex parte order would not have been granted were the judge aware of the existing judgment of a court of concurrent jurisdiction. This is a clear case of abuse of court process which must be frowned at by all-right thinking members of our society.

The South-east working committee, and indeed, the governors, party elders, major stakeholders and all the esteemed members of our party in the South-east zone have implicit confidence in the leadership of Chief Barr. Olisa Metuh and shall, in view of the superiority of the judgment which declared him duly elected, continue to work with him as the national vice chairman and the leader of our great party in the South-east zone.'

While passing vote-of-confidence in the Olisah Metu-led leadership, the communiqué also set up a five-man disciplinary committee to try the litigants: Mr Tim Egboka and Emeka Eze, who filed the suit before Justice Amaechina.

'It is important to note that in the past three years, our great party has grown from strength to strength due to the exemplary and sterling leadership qualities of Chief Olisa Metuh. At the inception of the tenure of the present zonal working committee, our party controlled only two States in the South East Zone. Today, we are in control of four out of the five South-eastern States.