PDP Scribe: Oyinlola Knows Fate 21 March  

Oyinlola: sacked by the court

A Federal High Court in Abuja Tuesday fixed ruling for 21 March in an application filed by the former National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, seeking a stay of execution of the order of the court removing him from office.

At the hearing of the application yesterday, a factional chairman of the PDP in Ogun State, Engr. Oludayo Dayo, urged the court to dismiss Oyinlola’s application as he had treated the court with contempt.

Dayo informed the court that the party has a pending application before the court asking it to commit Oyinlola to prison for disobeying its judgments. He urged the court to dismiss Oyinlola’s application.

On its part, the PDP told the court that it had complied with the court’s judgment by removing Oyinlola as the party’s National Secretary and wondered why it took him this long to file application for a stay of execution over an action that had taken place.

The party also stated that Oyinlola’s delay in transmitting the records of the court’s proceedings to the Court of Appeal is an indication that if he gets the court to stay his removal from office, he will not bother to pursue the matter again.

The party urged the court to dismiss his application for stay of execution.

The court presided by Justice Abdu-Kafarati had on 11 January removed Oyinlola from office while delivering judgment in a suit brought against him by a faction of the Ogun State chapter of the PDP and its chairman. The judgment was carried out by the PDP which relieved Oyinlola of his appointment.

The Ogun State chapter of PDP, through its chairman, Engr. Adebayo Dayo, had approached the court seeking among others, the removal of Oyinlola from office as the National Secretary of the party.

Dayo had challenged the nomination of Oyinlola by the South West caucus on grounds that two court judgments had nullified the South-West zonal congress through which the National Secretary was nominated.

Listed as defendants in the suit alongside Oyinlola are PDP and the Independent National Election Commission, INEC.

Delivering judgment in the case, Justice Abdul Kafarati held that the action of PDP and Oyinlola amounted to criminal conduct and liable to be condemned to prison for the flagrant disobedience to two subsisting court orders.

He noted that Oyinlola is not worthy to be recognized as the National Secretary of the party and should vacate the office.

The court also held that Oyinlola could not have emerged as the nominee of the PDP in view of the two court judgments which nullified the congress, adding that orders of court must be obeyed whether valid or not.

The court berated Oyinlola for his conduct which it said constitutes a flagrant disobedience to subsisting court orders and as well as a criminal contempt of court and held that all steps taken thereafter by Oyinlola is null and void.