ABEOKUTA – Counsel to Olumide Aderinokun, Stanley Imhanruor, on Thursday, said that a Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta delivered a judgement in his client’s favour as the authentic senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for Ogun Central in the coming election.
He informed News Contact Online that Justice OO Oguntoyinbo ruled that Aderinokun who was dragged before the Court by Mr. Dada Kolawole was duly nominated by the party having satisfied the law.
He said, “Sometimes in June, one Dada Kolawole filed a suit against PDP and INEC. They were at the point of arguing the originating summon and my client instructed me that he should be joined in the Suit because he is the nominated candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“We are in Court this morning, of course, the case was struck out because the Suit is not a competent one. They approached the court, asking the court to declare him Engr. Dada Kolawole Oduntan ) as the duly nominated candidate of the PDP.
“We contested that position that No!, Olumide Aderinokun is the duly nominated candidate. You no the party was polarised during the congress but this particular part of my own client was regular with a party structure but they just wanted to go their own way and they went to court to claim it.
“But the court said their Suit is not initiated in line with due process of the law. The originating summon was not properly initiated and the same initial petitioner not known to law. And on that basis, the court struck out the Suit.”
When asked how the judgement will affect an earlier judgement that ordered fresh primaries for all PDP seats, Imhanruor responded that “By the judgment of today, my client remains the candidate of the PDP.
“Incidentally, it is the same judge that gave that judgment of last Tuesday and today. Now, in that particular judgment, the one of last week Tuesday, I think that was on 27th of September, the case instituted by Seriki against PDP. The Court in that case refused to grant the relief of such by Seriki and others against my client and others.
“However, the Court then ordered that fresh primaries be held that will accommodate all the contending factions. In this particular one, the Court declared jurisdiction. The Court did not go to the demerit of the case because the declared jurisdiction that it doesn’t have jurisdiction to hear the matter on the ground that the originating summon was not duly signed by legal practitioner known to law,” he said further.
Counsel to the plantiff , Barr. Abiodun Aboaba, in his reaction said his team will speak on the judgement once it assess the Certified True Copy (CTC).
“Commenting on the judgement will not be appropriate at the moment. Once we get the CTC of the judgement, I will let you know”, he said.
