THE Court of Appeal, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State yesterday adjourned sine die a suit filed before it by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2007 gubernatorial election, Mr. Segun Oni, challenging his ouster from office as governor of the state.

According to the court, the report of the panel set up by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate allegations of unethical practices made by Oni against President, Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami and four others, is crucial to the appeal before it, hence the need to adjourn the case indefinitely.

Oni is seeking an order to set aside the October 15, 2010 judgment of the Election Appeal Tribunal, which installed the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, as governor.

The Appeal Court, however, adjourned the case indefinitely, pending the outcome of the NJC panel headed by  Justice Umaru Abdullahi.

Oni had on Monday, March 14, 2011 filed an appeal at the new Court of Appeal in Ado-Ekiti seeking an order to set aside the judgment of the Justice Salami-led Election Appeal Tribunal, and a retrial of the case, contending that, “the judgment was a nullity having been predetermined and delivered through a panel which has close affinity with 1st and 2nd Respondents.”

The PDP candidate, who attached copies of his petition to the NJC to his affidavit and the affidavit of Senator Umaru Dahiru and Mahmud Yahaya, claimed that it was uncontroverted that Justice Salami had been a friend of the ACN National Leader, Bola Tinubu and that the latter “has unfettered  access to influence  the

President of the Court of Appeal who presided over the Ekiti Tribunal,” thus denying him fair hearing.

At the start of hearing yesterday, lead counsel to Oni and PDP, Ladi Rotimi-Williams (SAN), moved the motion for the setting aside of the October 15, 2010

judgment and reconstitution of a new panel to hear the matter afresh.

Reacting to the application, lead counsel to the respondents, Anthony Adeniyi (SAN), told the court that the respondents had filed their preliminary objections and counter affidavits, stressing that they were prepared to go on with the case.

Fayemi had in his notice of preliminary objection and counter-affidavit argued that the October 15, 2010 verdict “reflects the wishes and aspirations of Ekiti people who voted him to power” and described Oni’s as a “bad loser who is not willing to honourably accept defeat after he (Oni) had gone to church for thanksgiving service for a ‘successful’ tenure of office.”

The governor averred that his appeal against Oni’s election was successful before the Court of Appeal “after a holistic consideration of evidence led by all parties and submission of their counsel.”

-Guardian

Posted by admin on Mar 30 2011. Filed under Ekiti, Latest Politics, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry