The Independent National Electoral Commission on Friday said that it should be left out of the controversy over the reinstatement of a former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, who stated this in Abuja in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, said that the Oyinlola’s issue was not the commission’s business.
Idowu was, among other questions, asked whether the commission had received a copy of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which reinstated Oyinlola.
In his response, he said, “I can’t respond to all these your queries because you are painstakingly trying to draw INEC into the controversy and that controversy is not INEC’s controversy. I am not responding to any of the questions.”
But Idowu had told one of our correspondents on Tuesday that Oyinlola’s letter would be treated in the context of the court judgment.
He said, “Are you aware that the court judgment was not directly directed at INEC? The judgment was directed at the party and so it is a party matter. I will find out whether the commission has received Oyinlola’s letter. The letter will be taken in the context of the judgment. It has to be taken in the context of the judgment.”
Also on Friday, the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP said it had yet to be served with the order that reinstated Oyinlola. As such, it could not act on an order it did not have.
An Abuja Court of Appeal had penultimate week reinstated Oyinlola, as National Secretary of the party after it voided an earlier judgment by a Federal a High Court, Abuja judgement removing him from office.
Oyinlola could, however, not resume office as the Tukur-led PDP claimed not to have been served the judgment.
It went ahead to announce his suspension from the party.
In response, the reinstated scribe wrote a letter to INEC, asking it to disregard any letter emanating from the party if such a letter did not bear his signature.
The Tukur-led PDP on its part also wrote the commission, asking it to disregard Oyinlola’s letter.
Reacting to INEC’s pronouncement, the National Publicity Secretary of the New PDP, Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze, on Friday said it was laughable that INEC which wasted no time in accepting an earlier court judgment removing Oyinlola would not turn round to say the issue was an internal affair of the PDP.
He said, “If they (INEC) say it is the internal affair of the PDP, how come they responded to the letter (written by Tukur’s faction) that Oyinlola is not the secretary the other time?
“They issued a press statement to say that they do not recognise Oyinlola as the PDP secretary. This is just to prove to Nigerians that the some of these government agencies have a different agenda of promoting what they were asked to do.”
“Is it not laughable that the same body which wasted no time in complying with an earlier court judgment on the same issue will now turn round to say another thing when another court has issued another judgment? It is now left for Nigerians to decide.”
Eze also said that the court order that reinstated Oyinlola had been served on the Tukur-led PDP.
He stated, “We served them the order through the e-mail of their publicity secretary (Olisa Metuh) and their Legal Adviser. Besides they were also represented by their lawyers in court on the day of the judgment.”
But the National Publicity Secretary of the Tukur-led PDP, Mr. Olisa Metuh told one of our correspondents that the group had yet to be served.
He argued that there was no way the party would refuse to obey lawful court orders because it was built on the rule of law and was a product of constitutionality.
Metuh also said he was not aware that the judgement was sent to his email as claimed by Oyinlola.
He added that emails were not recognised as a substituted ways of serving court judgments.
Oyinlola had on Friday also said that he sent the judgment electronically to the emails of Metuh and the National Legal Adviser of the party, Mr. Victor Kwom, when he said the party refused to receive the court judgment.
Apart from this, the former governor of Osun State wondered whether the lawyer of the party was not in court when the judgment was delivered.
He had said he was the person that even called the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamaga Tukur when an Abuja Federal High Court removed him from office.
Oyinlola had said that the speed with which the party implemented the judgement should have been replicated in the appellate court’s verdict.
But Metuh, who denied the allegation of refusal to receive the judgement, said that Oyinlola and his legal team should know what to do next.
He said the court could order a substituted service on the party and others joined in the case.
“You cannot hold us liable for the ineffectiveness of anyone. You don’t expect us to be going to every court and be asking if there is any judgement against us. We only know this when we are served by the plaintiff,” he added.
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