The Peoples Democratic Party has filed an application before a Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, seeking to set aside the orders of the court which directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept or process only list of candidates authenticated by Bayo Dayo-led factional executive of Ogun State PDP for 2019 elections.
This application came less than 48 hours after the order was granted.
In a suit marked FHC/AB/CS/114/2018, the court also ordered Uche Secondus-led PDP to accept as authentic, delegates from Dayo-led PDP for the party’s national convention where a presidential candidate for the 2019 elections will emerge.
The suit was filed by Dayo and nine others against INEC, and joined PDP, Secondus and the National Secretary of PDP, Senator Ibrahim Tsauri as respondents.
The Dayo-led faction has the backing of the Senator representing Ogun East, Buruji Kashamu.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Abubakar Shittu granted four out the six reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.
However, in the new suit, the defendants are asking the court to set aside those orders granted, citing lack of service on defendants and lack of fair hearing.
The PDP counsel, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), filed the application on 10 grounds, arguing that the orders are “a nullity, having been obtained by false representation, concealment of facts and fraud.”
The application, dated October 3, 2018, has a 17-point Affidavit of Urgency deposed to by Chimezie Ogugbara, a lawyer at the chamber of PDP counsel, and a five-point written address.
The application seeks the court to grant four reliefs, viz: “An order setting aside the purported services of all the processes in this suit on the Defendants/Applicants.
“An order setting aside the orders made by the Honourable Court in this against the Defendants/Applicants as same were made without jurisdiction.
“An order directing the plaintiffs in this suit to serve the Defendants/Applicants all the relevant processes in this suit accordance with the law.
“And any other order or further orders as the Honourable Court may deemed fit to make in the circumstances.”
The seventh ground of the application argues that, “The decision to file the application, subject matter of the orders sought to be set aside at this late hour and the decision not to serve the Defendants/ Applicants the processes were taken and executed in bad faith as they were made to deprive the 2nd Defendant/Applicant the opportunity to field a candidate at the presidential election of 2019.”
No date has been given for the hearing of the application.
Meanwhile, the Sikirullahi Ogundele-led Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun said there was no cause for alarm over the ruling of the Federal High Court, saying all efforts were being deployed to reverse “the ugly and most unmeritorious orders.”
A statement issued in Abeokuta by the Publicity Secretary of PDP executive backed by the national leadership, Malik Ibitoye, called on party members to be calm and go about their normal primaries and political campaigns.
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