By Tony Edike
ENUGU—THE Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu, yesterday, granted an interim order restraining the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from conducting fresh congresses of the party in Enugu State.

The court which was presided over by Justice Audu Aboki and two other Justices, made the order it said would subsist until the motion of notice brought before the court by the embattled Chairman of  Enugu Chapter of the party, Mr. Vita Abba, and 28 others, was heard and determined.

The fresh order of the appeal court followed a motion filed by Mr. Abba and  the 28 others for the maintenance of the status quo by all the parties in respect of the subject matter vide RES of Suit No. FHC/EN/CE/298/2010, pending the determination of the issue referred to the Court of Appeal by the Federal High Court.

Arguing the motion yesterday, Chief Mrs. Justina Offia, counsel to the plaintiffs, said  the matter was referred to the appellate court by the Federal High Court Enugu, presided  over by Justice Ramat Mohammed, pursuant to Section 295 1a and 2 of  1999 Constitution.

She informed the court that before the referral to the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court had on October 28, 2010, granted an interim order preserving the statusquo between the parties with regards to the conduct of fresh congresses of the PDP in Enugu State, adding the lower court discharged the order on November 10, 2010, and referred the matter to the Appeal Court.

By reason of that discharge of that interim order, Offia said the subject matter/res was exposed to the danger of being wasted before the court of appeal will determine the questions referred to it for determination by the lower court hence the application of for interlocutory injunction which she prayed the court to grant.

In the application filed by the plaintiffs, they asked the Appeal Court to restrain the respondents including INEC and PDP from doing anything or taking any step that would waste the subject matter and specifically requested the court to restrain the second defendant (PDP) from conducting the party’s state congresses in Enugu pending the hearing and determination of the matter referred to it.

Neither the defendants nor their counsels were present in court yesterday.

The Appeal Court, after reviewing the processes before it and finding that the lower court had earlier granted an interim order preserving the status quo, granted the order sought by the applicants in order to preserve the status quo until the motion on notice before it was heard and determined.

The court, however, adjourned the matter to November 23, 2010 for hearing of the motion on notice.