2011: Oyo PDP Battle Shifts To Abuja
The battle for the soul of the Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, ahead of the forthcoming 2011 general elections which started in February with a controversial state congress shifted to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, this morning as a member of the Board of Trustees, Chief Lekan Balogun dragged the party and the Independent National Election Commission before an Abuja High Court seeking to set aside the controversial congress.
Soon after the case was instituted, Chief Deju Afolabi and Bashir Akambi who were beneficiaries of the controversial congress held last February in Ibadan as Chairman and Secretary respectively of the Oyo State Peoples Democratic Party, applied to be joined in the suit.
As soon as they got the court’s nod to be joined as parties, they both brought a motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter.
At the hearing of their preliminary objection this morning, the duo contended that the Abuja court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the suit. Arguing through their counsel, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, a senior advocate of Nigeria, they contended that the subject matter of the suit relates to an event which took place in Ibadan, Oyo State and that the appropriate court for Chief Lekan Balogun to seek redress over whatever his grievances are is the Oyo state High Court and not the FCT High Court.
They also informed the court that there is a pending legal action before an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan involving the same subject matter but with opposing request as the one asking that the national leadership of the party should be restrained from interfering with executive of the state PDP as against the Abuja suit which seeks to sack the executive which is the product of the controversial congress.
According to Afolabi and Akambi, a situation of chaos and high level of confusion will be created if both courts of cognate jurisdiction grant the orders sought by the different plaintiffs in the suits. They therefore urged the judge, Justice Hussain Baba Yussuf to strike out the suit as an abuse of court process.
The Peoples Democratic Party represented by Chief Akin Olujinmi, also a senior advocate of Nigeria, also asked the court to strike out the matter on the ground that it lacks jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
He averred that the FCT High Court has no jurisdiction to entertain a matter whose subject matter did not arise from the Federal Capital Territory. He also stated that Chief Balogun’s claims in his suit wholly occurred in Oyo State which has many courts that can adjudicate on the matter.
“The controversial congress which the plaintiff is complaining about took place in Ibadan and not Abuja and it is an abuse of court process to institute a case before a court which has no jurisdiction to hear the matter,†he stated.
Counsel to the plaintiff, Chief Akintola Adeniyi, also a senior advocate of Nigeria, while opposing the preliminary objections filed by PDP, Afolabi and Akambi, argued that it is the statement claim of his client which determines whether the court has jurisdiction or not and nothing else.
He contended that the fact of their case is that the congress purportedly conducted in Ibadan which threw up Afolabi and Akambi as Chairman and Secretary respectively, was not endorsed by the Independent National Election Commission as required by the Electoral Act.
He contended that it is that noncompliance with the provisions of Section 86 and 87 of the Electoral Act that prompted their coming to court.
He also stated that the suit pending at Ibadan is not the same as the suit before the Abuja court as both plaintiffs and defendants in the suits are different. He also argued that Afolabi and Akambi were not sued but that they sought to be joined and the court allowed them.
Adeniyi also stated that section 87 of the Electoral Act empowers the Abuja court to entertain matters relating to non compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act and subsequently urged the court to discountenance the entire submissions made by the defendants and go ahead and determine the suit.
The court adjourned till 29 November 2010 to deliver its ruling on the preliminary objections.
By Nnamdi Felix / Abuja
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