Court sacks Obasanjo’s man Mustapha

A Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, has nullified the appointment of the candidate of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Bode Mustapha, as the National Auditor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mustapha was appointed into the office on March 24, this year, at the last National Congress of the party held in Abuja.

In his judgment, Justice Charles Achibong said: “ Mustapha is not a valid nominee and could not have been validly elected for the Office of the National Auditor of the PDP zoned to Ogun State , because he is not qualified as an accountant and was not nominated at the party’s state congress conducted by the Dayo Soremi-led Harmonised Executive Committee.”

In his place, the court ordered the PDP; its National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur; and National Secretary Olagunsoye Oyinlola to appoint Alhaji Fatai Adewole Adeyanju, a chartered accountant, who was nominated for the office at the state congress.

The court said based on its judgment of January 27 declaring the Soremi-led Executive as the authentic leadership of the PDP in Ogun State, the party officials that emerged form the congresses conducted by the Soremi-led Executive were validly elected.

The court’s judgment was on a suit filed by Chief Adebayo Dayo and Alhaji Semiu Sodipo for themselves and on behalf of the Ogun State Executive Committee of the PDP.

The PDP, Tukur, Oyinlola and Mustapha are the defendants.

Justice Achibong, who granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs, ordered the party to accord the necessary recognition stipulated by the PDP’s Constitution to the officers, whose names were submitted by the Soremi-led Executive.

The court ordered the party, Tukur and Oyinlola not to deal with the party in Ogun State except through the Executive Committee led by the first plaintiff, Chief Dayo.

It restrained the defendants from taking any step to prevent the officers that emerged from the state congresses from concluding their four-year term.

Justice Achibong ordered the nullification of the last Southwest zonal congress of the party.

He ordered the party, Tukur and Oyinlola to give access and right of participation at a fresh congress to the delegates elected by the Soremi-led executive and to accept only the nominees of the Soremi-led Executive for offices zoned to the Southwest.

Another Judge of the Federal High Court, Lagos, Justice Okon Abang, has elected to entertain an application filed by 15 zonal officers of the PDP in the Southwest, who are seeking to be joined as defendants in committal proceedings pending against some national leaders of the party.

The 15, led by ousted Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni, are those whose emergence the court voided last week by nullifying the Southwest congress of the PDP.

Named as defendants in the committal proceedings are the PDP, former PDP Acting National Chairman Abubakar Kawu Baraje, former Southwest Zonal Chairman Tajudeen Oladipo, former Organising Secretary Uche Secondus, Former National Adviser Olusola Oke and former Publicity Secretary Prof. Rufia Alkali.

Justice Abang fixed May 15 for hearing of the application for joinder, following which he will hear the defendants’ preliminary objection and the substantive case.

via The Nation