About five months after his removal by an Enugu High Court, Victor Umeh was on Monday returned to his position as national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, (APGA).

Umeh’s lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun had urged the special panel comprising Justice Paul Galinje (Chairman), Kwasami F.A. and Tom Yakubu, to set aside the judgment of the lower court, arguing that the respondent, Jude Okuli, who filed the suit had no locus to file the case abinition

According to him, the respondent was expelled from APGA before he filed the suit in the lower court, adding that he did not go to the lower court to ask for reinstatement before the trial judge reinstated him.

While noting that the lower court delivered a contradictory judgment, Olanipekun said the fact that APGA was not joined as a party could be fatal to the case and has rendered the matter incompetent.

He said the trial judge made himself a plaintiff counsel by extending the case of the respondent (Okuli) and posing questions himself and answering in favour of the respondent.

Mr Olanipekun noted that even when the judge found out that the parties in the matter sharply disagreed over affidavit evidence, he did not call for oral evidence as required by the court and went ahead to deliver judgment.

He had said that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter since it bothered on the internal affairs of a political party.

Lead counsel to the respondent, Onyechi Ikpeazu had argued that the case could not be defeated by reason of non-joinder of APGA, for the main reason that the complaint was directed to Mr Umeh, personally based on his arbitrary conduct.

Mr Ikpeazu said it wasn’t really an APGA matter but a grouse between individuals within the party, just as he contended that the appellant didn’t make the issue of locus standi the main grouse in the appeal.
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