Three months after his victory at the court, Ekiti State House of Assembly member-elect, Toyin Obayemi, has called on Governor Ayo Fayose to prevail on Speaker Kola Oluwawole to obey the court order that ordered for his swearing in to represent Ado Ekiti Constituency 1. Obayemi, in a letter to the governor which was made available to reporters in Ado Ekiti on Monday, expressed regrets that members of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have been erecting stumbling blocks against his inauguration as Assembly member.
The Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti had on July 4 removed Musa Arogundade as the lawmaker representing the constituency and ordered that Obayemi be sworn in immediately having been found to be the valid candidate for the April 11, 2015 House of Assembly election.
The court held that Arogundade fraudulently secured an Abuja Federal High Court order to have his name substituted with that of Odunayo Talabi aka Arinka, who came first in the November 29, 2014 PDP Assembly primary for Ado 1, ordered that Obayemi who came second was the valid candidate for the April 11, 2015 election.
Obayemi, in the letter which was also copied the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe and eminent lawyer, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), said the refusal of the PDP-dominated Assembly to admit him as a member after a court order is portraying the party in bad light.
According to him, he had remained a committed financial member of the party after he contested for the same seat in 2011 and lost to an opposition candidate and still remains loyal to the party after exploring constitutional means to regain his mandate following the primary held in November 2014.
Obayemi said: “Your Excellency, it is an irony of fate that my own party (PDP) today constitutes a stumbling block to my progress since the said judgment was delivered to the Speaker through the Clerk. Permit me with every sense of respect to say that the Speaker should know that those who live in glass house should not throw stones.
“I was taken aback when the only reason given by the Speaker for his refusal to obey court judgment and admit me into the House officially was that the case is still in the appeal level, I want to say that till date, I am yet to receive a letter informing me of such position.
“Your Excellency, we must not forget that this is a case of PDP versus PDP and the opposition will not stop laughing at us as a result of the stand of the Right Honorable Speaker refusing to obey court judgment.
“Mr. Governor Sir, I remain a committed and a financial member of the party and as the leader of the party here in Ekiti, I want to urge you to look at this case from the point of view that all members of the party are one and equal before you and I appeal to you to use your good offices to let the whole world know that PDP is not a lawless party.
“Finally Sir, I appeal to you therefore to please advise the Right Honorable Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly to do the needful in accordance with the court judgment of July 4, 2016 and perform my swearing in ceremony.”
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