An Ebonyi PDP Chairman, Silas Onu said Monday that his rival, Tochukwu Okorie had moved to the Appeal Court to obtain a stay of execution order after his sack from the state party's chairmanship position by the Abuja High Court would yield no fruit.
Onu who stated this in an interview with journalists in Abakaliki said that the PDP has withdrawn the suit against him from the appeal court.
He further argued that "If the PDP has withdrawn its suit which was against him from the appeal, a court order that is precedent upon such appeal cannot stand, because the order is interlocutory, and if the main case had been withdrawn, the order would also lapse - the reason why it cannot stand is that Tochukwu and PDP filed the joint appeal, it is one process that they filed together."
He maintained that "there's no judgement by a court of appeal," held against his chairmanship position in the PDP and wondered how the court of appeal sacked him, as alleged.
He further explained: "It's an interlocutory application for a stay of execution, it heard and granted them their prayer for a stay of execution.
"You will ask yourself what is being said, is it the completed act that is being said, the court of appeal said, I have not been given a certificate of return.
"It's not in PDP's constitution to give a certificate of return, does Tochukwu has a certificate of return, in any case, before the ruling was given, PDP which is the first applicant to the case, had briefed Tochukwu's lawyer to withdraw their application for stay of execution.
"They are not interested in it, because they have fully implemented the judgment, the lawyer deceived the court said PDP did not brief him, that he is still representing PDP, and wanted them to adopt the process against the interest of the PDP.
"So today, PDP went to the court of appeal to file a notice of discontinuance in the morning, and strangely, the registry of the court of appeal refused to accept processes from our litigants.
"It is illegal for the court registry to say that a presiding judge told them not to accept processes, in this case, is the presiding judge or the registry saying that litigants don't have the right to discontinue a case,?
'Soo, these are issues that would be determined subsequently because we're going to take these up separately."
He added: "You cannot separate Tochukwu from PDP, now if PDP has withdrawn from the appeal, the court must strike out the entire appeal for Tochukwu to go and rewrite his appeal and file again, making PDP a respondent in the new process, and the supreme court position on withdrawal of case is that the moment you file it, the case dies that day, the day of the hearing is the day its burial.
"The order is based on a case that is pending in court, because they say stay of execution pending the hearing and determination of the appeal, now if there is no appeal to be heard and determined again, it means the order itself dies, so the order they got this morning died, the order cannot stand, so their jubilation is just a waste of time."
Recall that the said Silas Onu has insisted that he remains the Chairman of the party despite a purported court ruling sacking him.
This is as he clarified that the court of appeal decision which ordered a stay of execution of his swearing-in as Chairman of the party can not stand as the said action had already taken place and ratified by the party. He also noted that PDP has withdrawn from the joint appeal filled with the other applicant in the matter Tochukwu Okorie effectively rendering the matter dead.
Reports had circulated on Monday that an Appeal Court in Abuja had sacked Mr Ọnụ and restored Mr Tochukwu Okorie as Chairman of the party.
Mr Okorie was declared winner of the party's state leadership election last year but was sacked by an Abuja High Court last month in a suit by Onu challenging his(Okorie's) election. The lower court had ruled that Okorie was not qualified to stand for the election and ordered that Ọnụ, who came second, be sworn in immediately as Chairman, an order which was immediately carried out and implemented by the party.
But Okorie and the PDP immediately appealed the lower court's decision at the appeal court but the PDP a few weeks later ratified and recognized Onu as the Chairman. On Monday reports circulated online that the Appeal Court had sacked Onu as Chairman. But Onu, a Lawyer debunked the news stating that the Appeal court has not ruled on the substantive matter filled by Okorie and the PDP.
He clarified that what the court ruled on was a motion for a stay of execution of the lower court's ruling adding that the order has already been carried out. He said: "there is no judgement by Court of Appeal so I wonder how the court of appeal sacked me.
It is an interlocutory application of Stay of Execution, it heard and granted them their prayer for a stay of execution. "You will ask yourself what is being stayed, is it the completed act that is being stayed? The court of appeal said I have not been given a certificate of return, it is not in PDP's constitution to be given a certificate of return. Does Tochukwu have a certificate of return?", he queried. "In any case, before the ruling was given, PDP which is the first applicant to the case, had briefed Tochukwu's lawyer, who incidentally was PDP's Lawyer to withdraw their application for a stay that they are no longer interested in it because they have fully implemented the judgment, the lawyer deceived the court and said PDP did not debrief him, that he is still representing PDP", Silas alleged.
Mr Silas said PDP has filed a notice of discontinuance in court which means the matter is dead as it was a joint appeal. "So these are issues that would be determined subsequently because we are going to take these up separately, however, as I speak to you now, PDP has withdrawn from the appeal, and if they have withdrawn from the appeal, a court order that is precedent upon such appeal cannot stand.
"Because the order is interlocutory, if the main case had been withdrawn, the order would also lapse, the reason why it cannot stand is that Tochukwu and PDP filed the joint appeal, it is one process that they filed together". "So you cannot separate Tochukwu from PDP, now if PDP has withdrawn from the appeal, the court must strike out the entire appeal for Tochukwu to go and rewrite his appeal and file again, making PDP a respondent in the new process, and the supreme court position on withdrawal of case is that the moment you file it, the case dies that day, the day of the hearing is the day of burial".
The order is based on a case that is pending in court, because they say stay of execution pending the hearing and determination of the appeal, now if there is no appeal to be heard and determined again, it means the order itself dies, so the order they got this morning died, the order cannot stand, so their jubilation is just a waste of time", he added.
