The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja yesterday reinstated former National Secretary of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola into office.
The former Osun State governor is the current National Secretary of the new PDP led by Abubakar Baraje and seven aggrieved PDP governors.
Oyinlola was sacked from office by the verdict of Justice Abdul Kafarati of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The trial court removed Oyinlola on the ground that the South-West congress of the party which produced him as nominee was in violation of two separate orders of a Lagos Federal High Court which nullified the congress.
The appellate court which voided Oyinlola’s sack held that the trial high court which sacked the scribe from office erred in law.
Justice J.T. Toh read the lead judgement of the court.
In the judgement, Justice Toh specifically set aside the judgement of the high court having breached Oyinlola’s right to fair hearing and ordered that he should be re-instated.
Specifically, the court said the trial court acted in error by granting the declarative reliefs sought by the Ogun State chapter of the PDP that challenged Oyinlola’s election in court, since Oyinlola was not a party to the suit that nullified the South-West congress of the party which produced Oyinlola.
The court said Oyinlola’s right to fair hearing was infringed upon.
The court which invoked Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act to hear the case on its merit as a court of first instance, overruled the verdict of the trial high court for breaching the principle of audi alteram partem.
By the verdict, yesterday, the appellate court had covertly removed the newly installed national scribe of the party, Prof .Wale Oladipo from office
Reacting to the judgement, counsel to the respondents, Ajibola Oluyede, said that the judgement would be challenged at the Supreme Court.
He added that the judgement was totally at variance with the evidence before the court.
He further stated that what the Appeal Court gave judgement on was not before it and that it is not right in law for a court to enter a judgement on an issue that is not before it.
In his judgement, Justice Kafarati had said the former governor is not worthy to be recognised as National Secretary of the party having violated the two orders and should therefore vacate the office.
He said: “The conduct of the defendants (Oyinlola) constitutes flagrant disobedience to a subsisting court order. It also amounts to a criminal contempt of court and any step taken thereafter by the PDP secretary is null and void.”
The plaintiff had told the court that Oyinlola was imposed as the candidate for the position by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the then National Vice Chairman of the zone, Tajudeen Oladipo.
They asked the court to declare Oyinlola’s continuous stay in the office as illegal, null and void since his candidacy has been nullified.
They equally asked the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct a fresh zonal congress in the South-West and an order deleting Oyinlola’s name and replacing it with that of another candidate who will emerge from the fresh zonal congress.
Though the court granted all reliefs sought, no specific order was made on Oyinlola’s committal to prison as sought by the plaintiff.
Also reacting to the judgement, the party National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwom said that the party is studying the judgement and would react at the appropriate time.
The embattled National Secretary of the party, Oladipo, however declared that he would remain in office pending when the Supreme Court takes final decision on the reinstatement of Oyinlola as the PDP scribe.
He said that the appellants from Ogun State are already heading to the Supreme Court and he will only quit on the orders of the apex court.
“The deponents from Ogun State who took him (Oyinlola) to court in the first place I believe are now in the process of going to Supreme Court, which is the final court. They are exercising their rights to appeal.
“As to my position, nothing has changed. I remain the National Secretary of the party. Supreme Court will have the final say. No cause for alarm,” he emphasised.
It would be recalled that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja and presided over by Justice Abdul Kafarati on Friday, January 11 nullified the election of Oyinlola as the National Secretary of the ruling PDP a suit filed by the Chairman of Ogun State PDP, Adebayo Dayo.
The court had asked that he (Oyinlola) be put in prison for criminal disobedience of court order, following a suit against him by the party chieftains in Osun State.
The state chapter of the PDP led by its chairman and scretary, Dayo and Semiu Sodipo, had in their suit, alleged that Oyinola emerged as the national scribe of the party through a kangaroo process they said was perfected by former President Obasanjo and former PDP National Vice Chairman (South-West), Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo.
They argued that in view of two separate judgements of a Federal High Court in Lagos that nullified the South-West zonal congress which produced Oyinlola as candidate, his continued stay in office was illegal, null and void since his candidacy had earlier been voided.
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