Ogun PDP crisis: Supreme Court serves INEC stay of judgment execution notice

THE Supreme Court has issued and served a stay of execution of a judgment by Justice I.N Buba of Lagos Federal High Court upon which the Bayo Dayo group in the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) predicates its renewed battle for the leadership of the party, the party’s legal adviser, Dr Yemi Oke, said on Friday.

Oke, in a statement, said the Apex court, in an appeal suit SC/968/2018 arising from Justice Buba’s judgment of 2016, on Friday, served the stay of execution notice on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“The PDP filed a motion on notice and affidavit of the urgency of nine paragraphs and affidavit in support of 49 paragraphs with several exhibits. In the motion, counsel to the PDP, Dr Yemi Oke is praying for an order of the Supreme Court staying the execution of the judgement obtained from Justice Buba, which the Senator Kashamu-backed Bayo Dayo group has been parading before other FHC Courts in Lagos, Abeokuta and Abuja.

“The basis of this contention was that the counsel to the then National Caretaker Committee, Dr Yemi Oke, was ruled out of appearance for Ali Modu Sheriff’s counsel while the appeal in PDP v Sheriff was pending at the Supreme Court.

“The Supreme Court has since decided that the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee is the authentic executive with power to appoint counsel to represent it in matters.

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“The implication is that, having wrongly denied audience to official counsel to the PDP and matter proceeded (ex-parte against PDP) with unauthorised counsel who aligned with the Bayo Dayo group, declared his support for their originating processes, proceeded to withdraw the preliminary and other objections and processes filed by Dr Oke for PDP against the suit.

“The Federal High Court in Lagos hurriedly heard the matter same day PDP counsel was ruled out of appearance and gave the now discredited judgement in favour of the Bayo Dayo the following day.

“All is set for a reversal by the Apex Court. Recall that the Supreme Court had earlier given similar judgment in PDP v Sheriff on the subject wherein the suit was listed as one of the several suits pending on PDP leadership tussle them.

“Similarly, counsel to PDP, Dr Oke also drew the attention of the Supreme Court to the fact of the five respondents, only INEC (third respondent) is standing. Bayo Dayo and Semiu Sodipo, first and second respondents have been expelled by PDP. The fourth respondent, Ali Modu Sheriff is now in APC. The judgment is just around the corner in a matter of days,” the statement said.