3rd March, 2011
Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court, Abuja this afternoon ruled that the Joju-Fadairo-led executive of the PDP in Ogun State has been dissolved and therefore does not have the legal backing to organise the primary election.
The judge therefore upheld the result of the primary election conducted by the PDP faction of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which produced Gen. Tunji Olurin as the governorship candidate of the party in Ogun State.
In arriving at the decision, Justice Kafarati relied on a letter from the PDP national headquarters dated 6 August and 30 July, 2010 signed by the former National Chairman of the party, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo.
The court held that since the Joju-Fadairo executive of the PDP in Ogun State has been dissolved, it has no powers to organise primary election in the state.
Justice Kafarati also held that the injunction obtained from an Ogun State High Court in Abeokuta against the dissolution of the Ogun State PDP executive was obtained after the order of the dissolution by the PDP national headquarters and so the lower court’s order cannot stand.
He also held that there is an order from a Lagos High Court barring the Joju-Fadairo-led executive from conducting the primary but the court order was ignored.
On Tuesday when hearing in the matter came up, counsel to the PDP, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), argued that the Joju Fadairo-led executive is the authentic executive of the party in Ogun State saddled with the powers to conduct primary elections.
He asked the court to recognise the primary election conducted by Fadairo’s faction based on a judgment delivered by an Ogun State High Court recognising him as the authentic chairman of the party in the state.
However, counsel to Olurin, Olagoke Fakunle, told the court to ignore the submissions of Fagbemi on the ground that the Fadairo-led executive conducted an illegal primary election in violation of a subsisting court order which sacked him.
—Oluokun Ayorinde/Abuja