The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State on Wednesday alleged that Justice Sunday Adeniyi, a State High Court Judge, presiding over a suit seeking to disqualify the party’s candidates in the Saturday’s council poll, was a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The party also said Adeniyi was the campaign Director General of Governor Dapo Abiodun when he ran for Ogun East Senatorial seat in 2015.
The Sikirullahi Ogundele-led faction of the PDP had filed suit before an Ogun State High Court, Abeokuta, challenging the list of the party’s candidates accepted by the state electoral body for the November 16 election.
The faction contends that those candidates are not members of the PDP as their names “are not in the Register authenticated by the national leadership (NWC) of the party for the recently held Ward Congresses as candidates of the Party.”
In the Suit No. AB/484/2024, which was filed by Kazeem Gbadamosi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the Plaintiffs asked the court to determine if persons whose names are not on the list of register of members approved by the National Working Committee (NWC) for Ward Congress could present candidates or be presented as candidates of PDP in the forthcoming Local Government election.
But Abayomi Tella, the State Chairman of the party backed by the National Working Committee, at a press conference in Abeokuta, accused the state government of instigating the suit with a plot to prevent PDP from participating in the November 16 election.
The case is slated for ruling on Thursday, two days before the election.
Tella expressed worry that the Judge assigned to handle the case was not only a card carrying member of the ruling party, but also a former Caretaker Chairman of Ikenne Local Government, the Local Government of Governor Abiodun and his campaign Director General when he ran for Senate in 2015.
The Chairman said Adeniyi was appointed as a Judge by Abiodun during his first term in office.
Tella asked the judge to hand off the case if he would not deliver a fair and just ruling.
“We want to state emphatically that we believe strongly in the rule of law and have due respect for our judiciary; therefore, we are expecting true justice even though, we not unaware that the Judge assigned with the case use to be a card carrying member of the Ruling party- APC, A former Caretaker Chairman of Ikenne Local Government, the Local Government of Mr Governor under the APC Government, The Director General of Mr Governor’s Campaign for the Senate in 2015 and recently appointed as Judge of Ogun State by Governor Dapo Abiodun during his first term in office.
“We only need to enumerate the political profile of the judge not because we are doubting his integrity, but we are using this as an advice that if he cannot recuse himself from this case, he should deliver true justice which will be in line with the rule of law,” Tella said.
He said the ruling party is intimidated by “the acceptability of our candidates across the 20 Local governments of the state and of course realized that the winning chances of our party is gaining more momentum on a daily basis as we approach the election day.”
The chairman however appealed to the State Electoral commission to be free, fair and ensure even and prompt distribution of materials to all polling units across the 20 Local Governments.
When contacted, the Special Adviser to Abiodun on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, asked our correspondent to seek reaction from the party’s spokesman, saying “State government is run differently from a political party. It’s the party that is contesting the election.”
The party’s publicity secretary, Tunde Oladunjoye, asked the opposition party to stop looking for excuses for its fragmentation “Was it the APC that also sponsored parallel congresses in the PDP? Was it the APC that instituted cases by factions against one another,” he asked.
When asked if the judge was a member of APC as alleged, Oladunjoye said “Let me tell you that attacks on judges by parties before the court is the tragedy in our current nascent democracy.
“However, the law provides avenues on access to justice which a party like PDP, though fragmented, should be knowledgeable enough to pursue if it is really sure of its trivial claim.”
