The party, in a letter through its lawyer to INEC, Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, said the commission should not tamper with its decision to accept list of candidates from the Adebayo Dayo-led executive, which is backed by Senator Buruji Kashamu.
The national body of the party had insisted that it was its prerogative to submit candidates for elective positions to INEC, kicking against the decision of the electoral body to obey court judgment directing it to collect list of candidates only from the Adebayo Dayo-led executive.
But Izinyon, in the letter to INEC, argued that “The issue of who has the power to conduct primaries and submission of list of nominated candidates for Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party was no longer an issue which in ordinary cause would have resided on the National Body but has been settled and laid to rest in FHC/L/CS/636/2016. There is no difficulty in obeying and enforcing this settled position by the Court as shown in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/636/2016 which granted our clients’ reliefs and giving the legal stamp to Engr. Adebayo Dayo the 1st Plaintiff as the Chairman, to function in that capacity and carry on all the functions of the State Party Congress as Chairman which functions include to elect governorship candidates of the party. This is supported by the Peoples Democratic Party Constitution 2017 (as amended). Section 25(1) of the said Peoples Democratic Party’s Constitution states clearly: “There shall be a State Party Congress which shall consists of: (a) The State Chairman who shall be the Chairman. Section 25(2C) states further thus; “The function of the State Congress shall be to: (c) Elect Governorship candidates of the Party.”
Izinyon then urged the commission “to ignore the attempt to obfuscate the issue by both letters and we implore you to continue to accord respect and validity to the subsisting Judgment and the Orders of the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/636/2016 and FHC/AB/CS/114/2018 as you rightly did.”
The letter reads further, “We act as counsel to the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, its officials and executives led by Engr. Adebayo Dayo hereinafter referred to as our clients and we have their unequivocal instructions to write you on the above subject matter especially against the background of the two letters to you dated Thursday November 1, 2018 signed by Prince Uche Secondus, National Chairman and Senator Umar Ibrahim Tsauri, CON, National Secretary which was a follow up to the earlier letter by their COuncel, Emeka Etiaba, SAN, Etiaba & Co, which letters were serialised in some national dallies.
“The first misconception contained in both letters revolves round the hullaballoo that your office ‘insisted’ on violation of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic, the Electoral Guideline and the Electoral Act and in disobedience of the Supreme Court Judgments on exclusive right of political parties.
“Firstly, the legal position of the power of the organ of the political party in the nomination/sponsorship for electoral position spelt out in all these cases including the Ayogu Eze’s case are inapplicable to the peculiar facts of the present case. In all these cases cited, the facts are not the same with that of our client.
“Both letter cited with blazen equanimity the recent Supreme Court case of Senator Ayogu Eze vs. PDP (2018) LPELR 44907, Sc.. In that case Senator Ayogu Eze in instituiting his own case relied on FHC/ABJ/816/2014 between Barr. Orji Chineye Godwin & 2 Ors. V. PDP which decided the Adhoc delegates, using his own list of Adhoc Delegates to conduct his primary to legitimize the process. From the facts, there were two factions, and one faction in the primary was conducted by the National level officers.
“Indeed from the excerpt of Eko JSC in Ayogu’s case, it was the issue of two parallel primaries election to elect the governorship candidate of the party (PDP) but in the present case the two judgments laid to rest the thematic scope of the Ogun State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party. It was no the issue of two parallels in a primary. As shall be demonstrated shortly in the judgment, the reliefs granted especially relief 7 clearly gave the legal imprimatur directing the Peoples Democratic Party and your officers as it relates to the 2019 general election to deal with our clients and the elected officers in meeting, congress/and or primaries.
“The heavy weather of pendency of appeal and motion for stay will not render the judgment to be of no effect nor does it enjoin all the parties to return to status quo prior to the judgment of keep the judgment in abeyance as suggested especially as Peoples Democratic Party continues in violation of the subsisting court order.”
The legal luminary also submitted that “Indeed, it settled law that an appeal does not operate as a stay of execution of a judgment.”
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