Appeal Court Nullifies Oyinlola’s Removal as PDP National Secretary

The  Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, Wednesday allowed the appeal filed by a former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, challenging the judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja which removed him from office as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Expectedly, the judgment caused panic in the ruling party that is enmeshed in a crisis.
It also introduced a new twist to the crisis, as Oyinlola holds the same position in the splinter group, New PDP, which was formed on August 31 after seven PDP governors, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and others walked out of the party's special convention in Abuja to announce the birth of the faction.

But Oyinlola's replacement in PDP, Prof. Olawale Oladipo, who told reporters that there was no cause for alarm, as he remains the national secretary, immediately rushed to the presidency for consultation.

In a unanimous judgment delivered by a panel of three justices of the Court of Appeal, the court dismissed the case filed at the Federal High Court and upon which the trial judge, Justice Abdul Kafarati, removed Oyinlola from office.

Justice T.J. Tur, who delivered the judgment of the court, held that Oyinlola was not given a fair hearing by the trial judge.

The appellate court also found as a fact that three separate cases, all seeking the same reliefs, were filed against Oyinlola and that the cases amounted to an abuse of court process.
This informed the decision of the court to dismiss the high court case, which reversed the order of the lower court removing Oyinlola.

The appeal court had invoked its power under Section 16 of the Court of Appeal Act and heard the case as if it were the trial court. The court however did not make any consequential order.
However, counsel to the PDP, Henry Michael-Ihunde of Chief Joe Kyari-Gadzama Chambers, said PDP would appeal the decision at the Supreme Court.

Justice Kafarati, in a January 11 judgment delivered in a motion on notice filed by Adebayo Dayo (chairman) and Semiu Sodipo (secretary) for themselves and the Ogun State chapter of the PDP had ordered the removal of Oyinlola as the party's national secretary.

Listed as defendants in the suit were Oyinlola, PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The court also ordered that a fresh congress be conducted by the South-west PDP to nominate a replacement for Oyinlola.

In granting the applicants’ prayers, Justice Kafarati discountenanced arguments by Oyinlola and the PDP that the court was functus officio, having earlier delivered a judgment in the case.

The judge held that the fresh application was neither meant to reopen the case nor to effect changes in the earlier delivered judgment, but to regularise the steps taken in compliance with the judgment.

On Oyinlola's argument that the court could no longer consider the application because he had appealed the judgment, the judge held that the application would have no effect on the judgment and the appeal filed.
He noted that there was no evidence before the court that the record of Oyinlola's appeal had been transmitted to the appellate court.

Justice Kafarati held that “mere filing of a notice of appeal” did not serve as grounds to stay proceedings.
Justice Kafarati in another judgment on September 13, also ordered the PDP and the INEC to delete the name of Oyinlola from their records as PDP's national secretary.

The judge also ordered the PDP and INEC to replace Oyinlola with Oladapo nominated by the South-west PDP at its extraordinary zonal congress on July 13.