Court Orders PDP Warring Factions To Maintain Status Quo

A Federal High Court in Lagos State has ordered warring factions of the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to maintain status quo pending the determination of a case filed by a factional chairman of the party, Chief Dayo Soremi, and two others.

Justice Charles Archibong handed down the order at the resumed hearing of the case. This followed the plea from counsel to the PDP, A. O. Ajana, for more time to file his reply to the motion on notice in which Chief Soremi and other members of his executive are seeking an order restraining the party from recognising any other member in Ogun State other than the group as the state executive of the party.

Also joined in the suit as co-defendants are the Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, Uche Secondus and  Olusola Oke.

During proceedings, another counsel Gani Bello announced appearance for another factional chairman of the party, Senator Babatunde Osholake. He maintained that there was need for the court to join his client in the case as he was an interested party to the suit.

“We are seeking to be join in this proceedings because the applicants included the name of my client in the exhibits before the court, they made some allegation against Senator Osholake who is the authentic chairman of the PDP in Ogun State.

“In the applicants’ processes before the court, they alleged that my client led some thugs to attack their office in Abeokuta and since they choose to made this weighty allegation, they ought to have included Senator Osholake in the suit to enable him state his side of the story and also enable the court dispense justice in the matter,” Bello submitted.

However, Justice Archibong stopped his submission following objection raised by the applicants’ counsel, Dayo Ajibola, who maintained that the court could not hear Bello as he did not appear properly before the court and needed to file an application to enable him respond to it.
Consequently, the judge ordered Bello to file an application to join the suit as an interested party and thereafter adjourned the case till November 21 to hear all pending applications.

Chief Soremi, Bayo Dayo and Taiwo Abisekan are urging the court to declare that the PDP or any of its national officers can validly interfere with the applicants in the performance of their functions and the exercise of powers bestowed on them by the constitution of the party until a valid congress is held.