Court vacates order stopping  Osun LGs’ election, allocation

THE coast is now clear for the conduct of the local government elections in Osun state as the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday vacated its interim order stopping the election slated for January 27, 2018.

The trial Judge, Justice John Tsoho, in a ruling delivered yesterday, also vacated the interim order withholding Osun state Local Governments’ allocations from the Federation Account.

According to the Judge, the interim order made on December 4, 2017, was made without hearing from the respondents and that, the 7th respondent filed a motion seeking the vacation of the said order on the 8th of December, 2017.

According to the Judge, from the day the order was made to now, the period of a 14-day lifespan of an interim order had elapsed.

He said by Order 26, Rule 12 of the Federal High Court, the interim order made on December 4, 2017, stands vacated automatically.

“In view of that, I declare that the interim order made on 4th December 2017 on the ex parte motion of the plaintiffs has elapsed.

The court then adjourned the matter till March 12, 2018, for the hearing of all pending applications, along with Plaintiffs’ originating summons.

The motion, which has Chief Kolawole Osunkemitan, Chief Douglas Adeyinka Oyinlola and Prince Aderemi Adeniran Adelow as Plaintiffs/Applicants has, the Attorney General of the Federation (1st defendant), Accountant General of the Federation (2nd), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) (3rd), Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) (4th), Minister of Finance (5th), INEC (6th), Osun State Government (7th), Osun State House of Assembly (8th) and Osun State Independent Electoral Commission as the 9th defendant.

The Attorney General of Osun state, Dr Ajibola Bashir (SAN), on behalf of the state government had argued the motion seeking the setting aside of Justice Tsoho’s interim order made on December 4, 2017 which basically put on hold allocations accruing to the state government and the planned local council election in the state.

The AG of Osun, in the application dated 28 December, 2017, urged the court to set aside the interim order of injunction granted the plaintiffs because “it has lapsed by fruition of time”, adding that, by the provisions of Order 26 Rule 12, an ex parte order has an expiry date, (14 days) and provides that an application must be filed in order to discharge such an order.

The AG submitted that the fact that the court asked the plaintiff to put the defendants on notice “is an extension of the motion ex parte” and insisted that “mere service of notice to show cause, does not convert an ex-parte motion to a motion on notice.

He also argued that the judge was functus officio when he granted reliefs he initially declined and urged the court to set aside the interim order because the 14 days have elapsed.

In opposition, counsel to the plaintiff, Robert Clarke (SAN), asked the court to discountenance the application of the AG of Osun state, saying that, the court clearly refused the motion ex parte he brought on November 28.

“Being that there is no ex parte order to set aside, the motion on notice filed by the 7th defendant has failed” Clarke stated and further argued that “the proceeding of December 4, from which the interim order emanated from, was based on a motion on notice and not an ex parte application.

“There was no motion ex parte, it was refused by the court; therefore there is nothing to set aside” Clarke submitted.

Recalled that, Justice Tsoho had earlier rejected the reliefs on the polls and monthly allocations when the motion ex parte was first brought before him on November 28.

He had directed that the defendants be put on notice for them to show cause why the reliefs should not be granted.

But on December 4, the judge went ahead to grant five set of reliefs out of 10, which he had earlier refused.