Loyalists of Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, and those of his predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Thursday, renewed their rivalry as they battle for who controls the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
While Amosun’s faction claimed that a court has recognised and reinstated the dissolved Derin Adebiyi-led executive, party members loyal to the Governor, insisted that the court never made such pronouncement.
DAILY POST learnt that following the alleged forceful takeover of the APC secretariat in Ogun State by the group loyal to Abiodun in August, Amosun loyalists had filed a motion before an Abuja High Court presided over by Honourable Justice Jude O. Okeke
A statement signed by Wole Elegbede, the faction’s APC Publicity Secretary said, “Based on the complaint by the claimants’ lawyer, Afolabi Afolarin of Kalu Agabi’s Chambers, that the defendants had been interfering with the subject matter of the case, the judge ruled that in the interim, the parties in the suit should maintain the “status quo” pending the hearing and determination of the case.”
Elegbede spoke further that, “Chief Adebiyi and nine others who are the claimants in the suit had applied to the court to declare the purported dissolution of the executives of the party in the state and the appointment of the Care-taker Committee by the National Working Committee (NWC) under the leadership of Adams Oshiomohle as illegal, null and void.
“The Defendants in the suit are the All Progressives Congress (APC), APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomohle, Yemi Sanusi, Ayo Olubori, Comrade Tunde Oladunjoye, the purported Chairman, Secretary and Publicity Secretary of Ogun APC Care-taker Committee respectively, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“At the hearing on Tuesday, the claimants lawyer alleged that the defendants had been interfering with the the subject matter of the case, warranting the filing of the motion for interlocutory and interim injunctions.
“Responding to the allegation, N. A. Ojile who stood in for Habeeb A. Ajayi, for the defendants, objected to the hearing of the motion on notice on the ground that they had a motion of preliminary objection.
“In his interim ruling, the presiding judge maintained that “the settled position of the law is that a challenge to jurisdiction is a threshold issue which should be heard and determined promptly once raised. In this case however, the claimant has complained that the defendants are interfering with the subject matter of the suit and on account therefore seeks to restrain them vide a Motion on Notice for Interlocutory Injunction to this proceeding. In the light of this, the court is minded to consolidate the hearing of both applications. It is so ordered.”
He added that Justice Okeke also ruled: “In the interim, parties are directed to maintain the status quo as at today with respect to the subject matter of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the above applications.”
However, the Spokesperson for the APC caretaker committee in Ogun State, Tunde Oladunjoye said “court did not reinstate Derin Adebiyi as APC Chairman in Ogun.”
He said, “This is to remind the authentic APC members in Ogun State, that the lies being spread by the Allied People’s Movement (APM), members claiming an unknown Court has reinstated Chief Derin Adebiyi, and others who have been lawfully suspended by the APC National body for their disloyal anti-party activities, is nothing but ”goat in its usual deed formula’.”
Oladunjoye said, “In fact, the preliminary objection of the Defendants was adjourned till 26th November 2019 and not October. They should produce records of proceedings. May be they got the Order at Asipa Amosun’s court Ita iyalode.
“It’s their established brain-washed pattern: they celebrated victory before the announcements of the governorship election results. They celebrated victory before the tribunal judgment. Now, they are celebrating a case that has not even been heard by the judge. If not that one should not flog people that are already down, their deliberate social media misrepresentation of court proceedings is enough to put them behind bars.
“Therefore, any reinstament rumor should be disregarded as their characteristic pattern of telling lies”.
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