Suspended National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has vowed to appeal the ruling of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, which struck out his case.

Secondus stated that though he respects the position of the appellate court dismissing his motion to halt the National Convention of the party holding on Saturday and Sunday, October 30 and 31, he has mandated his lawyers to appeal the verdict.

The Appeal Court in Port Harcourt had earlier on Friday dismissed Secondus’ suit aimed at stopping the party’s convention.

The court also ordered the PDP to go ahead with the party’s national convention scheduled to hold in Abuja for Saturday and Sunday.

The panel of three judges led by Justice Haruna Tsammani held that the application lacked merit.

Secondus filed a suit marked: CA/PH/339/2021 seeking, among others, orders to restrain the PDP from conducting its national convention.

Secondus, in a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Ike Abonyi, stated that the substantive case is still pending at the Court of Appeal.

He vowed to protect the constitution of the PDP through the legal means.

His words: “I have instructed my lawyers to study the ruling with a view to appealing it immediately as no abuse of the constitution of our dear party should be allowed to stand.

“The issue is not about Prince Uche Secondus, but about the sanctity of our party constitution and core democratic principles of justice and rule of law not only in PDP but in our democracy. No impunity must be condoned.

“I will, therefore, wish to emphasize the fact that I did not take the party to court and would not have done that. As a foundation member of this party who has served at various levels, State Chairman, Chairman of state Chairmen, National Organizing Secretary, Deputy National Chairman, Acting National Chairman and now National Chairman, am very much abreast with the workings of the party. I have been a witness to how much harm litigations have done to our party in the past and as a result I have been a strong advocate against settling issues in courts.

“This was why I resisted and rejected entreaties of those who wanted me to go to court to halt these forces when it was obvious that they were determined to disrupt my leadership and truncate my tenure in office with the sole objective of hijacking the party for their selfish ulterior motives.

“To allow this travesty to stand is to reduce our beloved party to a level where anybody can wake up overnight and remove officers against the proscribed constitutional process and the National Chairman for that matter. And purporting to use the judiciary through an ex-parte order to legitimize same.

“As a major practitioner in our democracy, I am duty bound to protect and defend the sanctity of the provisions of our constitution of which I am the custodian.

“I wish to therefore at this juncture thank and appreciate leaders and other stakeholders of our party who have called in to express their concerns on this matter and appeal for the understanding of all.

“If those who orchestrated and fostered this avoidable crisis had listened to wise counsel of party leaders and elders who advised the withdrawal of cases, this situation would have been avoidable. I wish the party well as always.”