A member of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, South-West, Chief Pegba Otemolu, has asked the Federal
High Court in Abuja to nullify the elections of the party’s National Treasurer
and the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party.
While Aribisala Adewale emerged
as the National Treasurer, Diran Odeyemi won the Deputy National Publicity
Secretary at the December 9, 2017 convention.
In his suit marked FHC/ ABJ/CS/
1284 /2017 and filed on December 23, 2017, Otemolu prayed the court to
substitute Adewale with Chief Folorunsho Babalola as the National Treasurer and
Bamidele Salam as the Deputy National Publicity Secretary.
The PDP and the Independent
National Electoral Commission, Adewale and Odeyemi were joined as the
defendants by the plaintiff.
In his contention, the nomination
and the subsequent emergence of Adewale and Odeyemi as national officers of the
party violated an earlier judgment of the court delivered on June 24, 2016.
Otemolu also contended that he
remained the PDP’s zonal secretary in the South-West having been elected for a
tenure of four years alongside other members of the party’s executive committee
in the zone at a congress held on October 11, 2017.
He insisted that failure of the
party to recognise his executive committee’s list of delegates for the party’s
December 9, 2017 national congress had rendered the elections of Adewale and
Odeyemi “purportedly” nominated by the South-West zone of the party a nullity.
A supporting affidavit filed
alongside the suit was deposed to by Egodo Elvis, a litigation officer in the
law firm of the plaintiff’s lawyer, Rickey Tarfa, SAN.
He stated, “That by the terms of
the judgment dated June 24, 2016 of this honourable court, the plaintiff’s
South-West Executive Committee of the 1 st defendant (PDP ) are the valid and
authentic executive committee until their tenure expires; as such, they are the
Executive Committee to be accepted and recognised for any purpose on issues
relating to the South- West Executive Committee of the 1 st defendant including
the convening of the national convention of the 1 st defendant.
“The 1 st defendant proceeded
with its national convention on December 9 , 2017 at the Eagle’s Square as
scheduled, however, it failed and refused to accept, accord or recognise the
delegates of the plaintiff’s South – West Executive Committee of the 1 st
defendant as forwarded by the plaintiff’s executive committee to the 1 st
defendant.
“That the nomination of the 3 rd
and 4 th defendants, Hon. Aribisala Adewale and Hon. Diran Odeyemi respectively
as the nominees of the South-West Zone of the 1 st defendant (PDP) for the
position of the National Treasurer and the Deputy National Publicity Secretary
of the 1 st defendant by the parallel executive committee of the 1 st defendant
in the South – West ought to be nullified.”
He is seeking among others, “An
order nullifying the conduct of the convention of the 1 st defendant at Eagle’s
Square, Abuja , on December 9, 2017, as relates to the officers of the National
Treasurer and Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the 1 st defendant.
“An order directing the 1 st
defendant to immediately replace Hon . Aribisala Adewale, the 3 rd defendant
and Hon . Diran Odeyemi , the 4 th defendant with Chief Folorunsho Babalola and
Bamidele Salam respectively as the Treasurer and Deputy National Secretary of
the 1 st defendant.”
No date has been fixed for the
hearing of the case.
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