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| Buruji Kashamu |
How will you describe the Friday judgment
of the Federal High Court, Abuja, removing the PDP National Secretary,
Olagunsoye Oyinlola, from office?
How else do you want us
to describe it, when you know that this judgment has only confirmed the
earlier judgments obtained from different courts regarding the
nullification of the South-West PDP Congress? It’s based on the
different judgments that not only nullified the South-West congress but
also reaffirmed the Adebayo Dayo-led Exco of Ogun PDP. These people,
because they believe in illegality and imposition, had continued to do
whatever they wanted without regard for the rule of law.
The Adebayo exco
instituted another case against Oyinlola as you are well aware that the
South-West Congress had been nullified and, automatically, there was no
way Oyinlola could have remained in office. So, at the end of the day,
this judgment only confirmed what has transpired in the past. And what
this means is that after God, the law comes next. The lesson of this
judgment is that we must adhere strictly to the rule of law and I’m sure
everybody has learnt his lesson. If they don’t want to implement this
latest judgment, they would continue to push themselves further into
problems and it’s only God that knows what can happen at the end of the
day.
There have been previous
court judgments removing South-West officers like Bode Mustapha and
Segun Oni but the judgments have not been implemented by the national
leadership of the PDP. How do you see this?
If they had respected and
executed the earlier judgments, there would have been no room for the
Friday judgment. But because they have not been following the rule of
law, they believe that they are big; they could do and undo and cause
another problem. Friday’s judgment is the result of all the arbitrary
things that they have been doing. Let’s wait and see if they will not
respect this latest one too.
I believe that there is a
portion in this judgment which compels them to respect it. If they
like, they can appeal but they must respect the judgment first. Oyinlola
cannot come back to the office as the PDP national secretary. If he
tries to do that, the Adebayo Dayo-led exco will institute another legal
procedure for contempt of court, which will be a criminal conduct. They
can hold the legal department; they can hold (the PDP National
Chairman, Bamanga Tukur himself; and then, we’ll find ourselves in court
and we’ll continue. And apart from that, they must respect this
judgment and the previous ones; they must accept that there is no longer
any faction in Ogun State PDP. If they fail to do that, then we’ll
continue the legal process.
This judgment has also
instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission to delete
Oyinlola’s name from their records. So, any action taken by Oyinlola
from now on is a nullity. He is on his own and the party national
headquarters has to know that if they allow Oyinlola to continue to
occupy that office after this judgment, if they allow him to participate
in any meeting, either the National Working Committee or the National
Executive Council, whatever decision they take in such meetings will be a
nullity and I’m sure they cannot afford this.
But you know that Oyinlola still has the right to appeal against the judgment removing him from office…
Of course, everybody has
the right to appeal. He can appeal but that does not mean that the
judgment would not be implemented. If he has not got a stay of
execution, the judgment will continue to run. So for now, he can only
stay away because they have already said he cannot remain in office and
that he should vacate the office. So, he can only go back to that office
if he succeeds in getting a stay of execution order. There is a
declaration in the judgment, because we have the enrolment order and
that is even if he appeals, the judgment must be respected first and he
can’t do otherwise. He has to respect that first and if he doesn’t, he
would find himself in jail.
There are allegations that you have some personal scores to settle with Oyinlola. How true is this?
No. Oyinlola is my
brother. Let me tell you, I personally went to Oyinlola’s office in
company with two other persons about a month ago to advise him that,
being a lawyer, he should endeavour to respect the rule of law. That if
he as a lawyer could not respect the rule of law, who else would do
that? I was in his office and we discussed for almost two hours. I
begged him. As our leader in the South-West, I like him and respect him a
lot; we are more or less members of the same family.
I told him not to support
Baba Obasanjo (former president Olusegun Obasanjo). Obasanjo is our
father; he’s an old man. I told him (Oyinlola) to start to do what
Obasanjo cannot do now. He should pull the party together and resolve
the problems. I told him he should not be biased because he was the only
leader we had representing the South-West at the national leadership of
the party. But he refused to accept that and chose to continue to
perpetrate illegality. And at the end of the day, he has reaped the
fruit of those who perpetrate illegality.
What is the implication of the Friday judgment for the Ogun State PDP, which has for long been in crisis?
This judgment has only
reaffirmed the authenticity of the Adebayo Dayo-led exco of the state
PDP. The implication is that anywhere they go in the next 20 years, the
Dayo-led exco will still be confirmed as the authentic exco of Ogun PDP.
And even with the latest judgment, they can never get contrary court
decision. The courts have continued to confirm Dayo as the only
authentic PDP exco in the state, and that any other exco or persons
claiming to run anything as such, is illegal and counterfeit. This
latest ruling has given them 21 days to conduct a fresh congress in the
South-West and whether they like it or not, they have to follow the rule
of law. It’s not Obasanjo that was talking; it was the rule of law that
has prevailed.
Do you see the judgment as signalling an end to the perennial crisis in Ogun PDP?
Exactly! There was no
crisis in Ogun PDP and if some people believed there were factions in
Ogun PDP, with Friday’s judgment, all that has ended. The national
headquarters have to know what they are doing now because they cannot do
otherwise. And if they do, the entire world would see them as a lawless
organisation because this was the secretary of the largest party in
Africa being removed from office by the court. And if they say they want
to disobey the rule of law regarding the judgment, then it means they
don’t know what they are doing. It would be shameful. I believe that
Tukur would never do that because I believe he’s an intelligent elderly
person who respects the rule of law. And I also believe that the deputy
national chairman, who is a PhD holder and the legal adviser, would
advise the party leadership accordingly.
How best do you think the crisis in Ogun PDP can be resolved?
The Friday judgment has
resolved the crisis in Ogun PDP. The entire world is watching what has
happened. If Oyinlola could be removed for lack of respect for the rule
of law, do you think any faction in Ogun State would still have the
audacity to oppose the Dayo-led state exco? The police and the State
Security Service would have to set to work to arrest such people. The
Ogun PDP crisis is over and the Dayo-led exco is free to operate now and
mobilise people to ensure the growth of the party. The party in the
state would henceforth grow rapidly.
Also, I think Oyinlola
should learn how to be loyal and he has to learn. Don’t forget he has
been writing letters against the judgments obtained by the Dayo-led
exco. He’s a lawyer but he kept on writing letters to counter the court
judgments given by courts, asking the police to arrest them and seize
their secretariat. Oyinlola has been the mastermind of whatever problems
we have been having in Ogun PDP and now that the court has moved
against him, he should understand better because he’s a lawyer.
How does the Dayo-led
exco plan to regain the party secretariat in Abeokuta from the police
who have since occupied the building?
The Dayo-led exco has instructed a lawyer
in Abeokuta to take the matter up with the police and if the police
fail to leave the secretariat, the lawyer would obtain an order of mandamus to compel the Ogun State police commissioner to obey the law.
PUNCH
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