OKADA RIDERS PREVENT ANTI-AKEREDOLU PROTEST IN ONDO

Johnson also lauded the embattled deputy governor, Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa “for his maturity, humility and perseverance in handling the Impeachment saga.

” We urge him to ensure the reconciliation and the political solution opted for is successful.

“We recognise the office of the Speaker of the Ondo House of Assembly and urge that the reconciliation process is given due priority.

Meanwhile, the embattled deputy governor, Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has denied endorsing any planned protest against the governor’s continued absence from the state.

Aiyedatiwa in a statement he personally signed in Akure, disowned the protesters.

Aiyedatiwa said that “My attention has been drawn to some false publications in which it was alleged that a group loyal to me is planning to hold a protest against the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

“This is to inform the good and peace-loving people of Ondo State that I am not aware of any such protest and no group or association has my endorsement to carry out public demonstration of any kind.

“I affirm my commitment to the ongoing reconciliation efforts of the National leadership of our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the political situation in our State which are already yielding the much-needed tranquillity in the State.

“Therefore, I enjoin the security operatives in the State to continue to maintain peace and ensure that the good people of Ondo State go about their daily activities without any disturbance.

The deputy governor has asked the state Chief Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola, to ignore the request of the Assembly to constitute a seven-man panel of investigators to probe allegations of gross misconduct against him.

Aiyedatiwa, in a seven-page letter by his lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, was forwarded to the state Chief Judge yesterday.

Also on Monday, the state house of assembly wrote a letter to the Chief Judge, asking him to constitute a seven-man panel to probe the Deputy Governor, claiming that the orders of injunction granted by the Federal High Court, Abuja, had expired.

But, Aiyedatiwa, through his lawyer, punctured the position of the Assembly, which he said was based on conjectures, misconceptions, inconsistencies, undue desperation and misconstruction of the law.

The deputy governor argued that the Orders granted by the Federal High Court, Abuja on September 26, 2023, were still in force and remained valid and subsisting, contrary to the conclusion of the Assembly that the said Orders had expired by operation of law.

Dwelling on Order 26 Rule 10 (2) and (3) of the Federal High Court Rules 2019, the Deputy Governor argued that the Court in Abuja has been given wide discretion to determine the nature, status and duration of any order granted and “in this case, the Court directed that the Orders granted on 26th September 2023 should last till the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction, which is still pending before the Court”.

He stated in his letter that based on the two proceedings of the Federal High Court, Abuja of October 9 and 16, 2023, the court has not set aside the pending orders and the order cannot be extinguished by the application to set it aside since it was combined with the hearing of the substantive suit.

The deputy governor drew the attention of the Chief Judge to the inconsistent action of the Assembly which on one hand is claiming that the Orders have expired whilst, on the other hand, it is pursuing an appeal against the said Orders.

The Deputy Governor referred the Chief Judge to the Motion on Notice filed by the Assembly at the Court of Appeal, Abuja on October 20, 2023 where it stated that the Orders granted by the Federal High Court were still valid and subsisting because they were tied to the hearing and determination of the Deputy Governor’s motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.

Aiyedatiwa then queried whether the Assembly can approbate and reprobate at the same time by stating under oath in Court that the Orders are still valid and pending while at the same time writing a letter to the Chief Judge claiming that the Orders have expired.

He argued that “Contrary to this misconception of law and the facts, the same House of Assembly filed a Motion on Notice dated 20th October 2023, before the Court of Appeal, Abuja in respect of the same orders of the Federal High Court, praying for abridgement of time to hear its appeal against the said orders.

“If it is true that the orders expired by operation of law on 18th October 2023 as being falsely canvassed, why would the same House of Assembly file a fresh application two days later, in pursuit of its desire to set aside the said orders that it claimed have expired? While the Assembly is pursuing its appeal to set aside the orders in Court, it is deviously asking My Lord to set aside the same orders in Chambers, purportedly by operation of law.

“In Ground 4 of the said Motion on Notice dated 20th October 2023 filed the House of Assembly and pending before the Court of Appeal in Abuja and paragraph 9 of the affidavit of Elizabeth Omiwole in support thereof, it is stated on oath as follows:

“GROUND 4: The lower Court has not heard the Originating Summons till date and has in fact adjourned the case till 30th October 2023 whilst the INTERIM INJUNCTIONS ARE TIED TO THE HEARING AND DETERMINATION OF THE 1ST RESPONDENT’S INTERLOCUTORY APPLICATION WHICH HAS ALSO NOT BEEN TAKEN OR ARGUED TILL DATE.”

In Paragraph 9, he said, “I know as a fact that the lower Court has not heard the 1st Respondent’s Originating Summons till date. In fact, the Court has again adjourned the case till 30th October 2023 whilst the INTERIM INJUNCTIONS ARE TIED TO THE HEARING AND DETERMINATION OF THE INTERLOCUTORY APPLICATION WHICH HAS ALSO NOT BEEN ARGUED OR HEARD TILL DATE.”

The Deputy Governor reminded the Chief Judge of his principled position as stated in his letter to the Assembly on October 3, 2023 that all parties should await the hearing of the cases in court, stating that nothing has changed to warrant a departure from the stand of the Chief Judge.

Aiyedatiwa referred to other cases pending before the Akure High Court on the same subject matter of impeachment, urging the Chief Judge as the head of the judiciary not to allow the Assembly to ridicule the Courts and their authority.

The deputy governor also quoted from the Supreme Court decision in the case of the Deputy Governor of Taraba State (Danladi v. Dangari) where in a similar fashion, lawmakers rushed to impeach him whilst his case was pending in Court, whereupon the Supreme Court quashed the impeachment and ordered his reinstatement.

Also, the Ondo Youth and Masses Conscience, on Monday, raised the alarm over plan by associates of the deputy governor, to protest against governor Akeredolu absence from the state and thereby distrupt the existing peace in the state.

The state coordinator of the youth group, Adetunji Benjamin, alleged that “the plan involves the mobilisation of youth, primarily from Ilaje in Ilaje local government area, who are expected to present a distorted account of Mr. Governor’s health status.

They alleged that the plan was aimed at portraying the governor as incapacitated, hidden away from public view by his family and associates.

“Even worse, they intend to employ the slogan “Jara e gba” to mislead the people of the state and garner support for actions that may incite discord against the Governor.

“We strongly condemn these actions and call on the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to take notice of this treacherous endeavour, even after their previous interventions.