Barely 48 hours after a Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta granted an order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept or process only list of candidates authenticated by Bayo Dayo-led factional exco of Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for 2019 elections, the national leadership of the party has filed an application seeking to set aside the orders of the court.
In a suit marked FHC/AB/CS/114/2018, the court also ordered Uche Secondus-led PDP to accept as authentic, delegates from Dayo-led PDP, for that party’s National Convention where a presidential candidate for 2019 elections will emerge.
The suit was filed by Dayo and nine others against INEC, and joined PDP, Secondus and the National Secretary of PDP, Senator Ibrahim Tsauri as respondents.
Dayo-led faction has the backing of the Senator representing Ogun East, Buruji Kashamu.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Abubakar Shittu granted four out the six reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.
However, the defendants are asking the court to set aside those orders granted, citing lack of service on defendants and lack of fair hearing.
The PDP Counsel, Emeka Etiaba, SAN, filed the application on 10 grounds, saying the orders are “a nullity, having been obtained by false representation, concealment of facts and fraud.”
The application dated October 3, 2018 has a 17-point Affidavit of Urgency deposed to by Chimezie Ogugbara, a lawyer at the chamber of PDP counsel, and a five-point written address.
The application seeks the court to grant four reliefs. They are “An order setting aside the purported services of all the processes in this suit on the Defendants/Applicants.
“An order setting aside the orders made by the Honourable Court in this against the Defendants/Applicants as same were made without jurisdiction.
“An order directing the plaintiffs in this suit to serve the Defendants/Applicants all the relevant processes in this suit accordance with the law.
“And any other order or further orders as the Honourable Court may deemed fit to make in the circumstances.”
The seventh ground of the application submitted “the decision to file the application, subject matter of the orders sought to be set aside at this late hour and the decision not to serve the Defendants/ Applicants the processes were taken and executed in bad faith as they were made to deprive the 2nd Defendant/Applicant the opportunity to field a candidate at the presidential election of 2019.”
No date has have been fixed for hearing of the application.
Meanwhile, the Sikirullahi Ogundele-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said there is no cause for alarm for the Federal High Court ruling, adding that all hands are on the deck to reverse “the ugly and most unmeritorious orders.”
A statement issued in Abeokuta by the Publicity Secretary of PDP exco backed by the national leadership, Malik Ibitoye called on party members to be calm and go on about their normal primaries and political campaigns.
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