Court SACKS Oyinlola as PDP's National Secretary

A Federal High Court on Friday sacked former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, from office as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party. Delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Ogun State Executive Committee (SEC) of the PDP, Justice Abdul Kafarati, voided the nomination of Oyinlola as the candidate of the South West Zonal Chapter of the PDP and his consequent election as National Secretary at the party’s National Convention in March last year.
Relying on the order and two separate judgments of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which nullified the South West zonal congress that produced Oyinlola as candidate, Justice Kafarati held that his nomination and subsequent election were invalid, null and void.
The judge arrived at the decision after assuming jurisdiction and dismissing the preliminary objection of Oyinlola and the PDP. The court held that the suit was not an intra-party affair of the party as claimed by (Oyinlola and PDP) but a cause of action seeking the interpretation of the two separate judgments of the Federal High Court, Lagos, that nullified the zonal congress.
According to the judge, the suit did not constitute an abuse of court process, therefore it is “justiceable”, adding “the action discloses reasonable cause of action.”
“On the whole, the two preliminary objections are dismissed. All the three questions are answered in affirmative and the reliefs sought granted.”
Oyinlola said the judgment was a misapplication of principle of justice. The state’s PDP Chairman, Adebayo Dayo, hailed the judge for the courageous judgment. He expressed hope that the party’s national leaders would obey the court’s ruling.