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Agunloye, 37 others allege Ondo gov flouts court orders, Mimiko disagrees

By Emeka Anuforo Abuja
05 February 2015   |   7:53 pm
THIRTY-EIGHT (38) Ondo State National Assembly candidates currently locked in legal battle with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters have called the attention of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and security agencies to an alleged flouting of court orders by the state governor.     The candidates,…

THIRTY-EIGHT (38) Ondo State National Assembly candidates currently locked in legal battle with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters have called the attention of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and security agencies to an alleged flouting of court orders by the state governor.

    The candidates, who spoke to journalists in Abuja, yesterday, noted that despite court rulings asking all parties to stay action till February 6 when the court would decide on the matter, the Governor, Olusegun Mimiko had gone around to present certain candidates as authentic contestants for the two chambers of the National Assembly.

    Led by former Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Dr Olu Agunloye, the PDP candidates also urged President Goodluck Jonathan to call the Governor to order.

They accused INEC of publishing some names of PDP candidates in the state on its website despite the court rulings.

    They said the actions of the Governor and INEC were “flagrant contempt for court process.” Agunloye said: “The CJN has pleaded with the judiciary not to derail the democracy and never to take bribes. But Nigerians are worried that if the judiciary is not protected, Nigeria will be in trouble.

    “But we are trying to avoid eruption of the crisis in Ondo state. Mimiko is working against it and dis obeying court order,” Agunloye said.

    Reacting to the accusation, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Mimiko, Mr. Eni Akindola said the governor has no hand in the imposition of candidates.

    He said, “Was the governor mentioned in any of the cases? He was never party to the case. It is not the duty of the governor to present candidates for election. It is the party structure that determines. They were in court; has the court vindicated them? They should wait for the court to decide. You use persuasive method to negotiate.

    “I am not a lawyer but I do know that there was court order against Governor Mimiko. The PDP National leadership and INEC are the parties in the case. The duty of submitting names of candidates resides with the national Headquarters of the party.

    Agunloye continued, “The court last year ordered that there won’t be candidates in Ondo state until the clarification by the Judge is made. The court went on strike but INEC and Mimiko continued to flout the order.”

    “Mimiko made frantic efforts to present his candidates when Jonathan visited. But the President declined and waited for the decision of the court.”

    He went on, “The court said there won’t be any pronouncement till today’s verdict. So the status quoted remains. But Mimiko continues to flout the law. He does this with one Clement Faboyede who has been asked by the court to stop parading himself as PDP chairman. If Mimiko continues to flout the court order, despite a pronouncement being made by the court, we cannot guarantee the peace in the state.

    “INEC has continued to flout court order. The court has ruled that there are no candidates in Ondo State. Efforts should be made to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order. When the crisis starts we will not be able to contain it, not even the President can contain it. The court said wait till February 6. But Mimiko is not listening. 

    “We need to bring this to the attention of the CJN and Nigerians. Mimiko is imposing a Labour Party people on a more robust PDP. Its obvious that the President is on the side on the rule of law because of the court order, but he needs to know that the Governor is playing a different card.”

     He assured, however, that they would abide by the ruling of the court, however it goes, noting however that only a court can make a final pronouncement on who and who are the authentic candidates.”

     He said tension was brewing on the matter, and stressed how volatile the state could be if the matter is allowed to get out of hands.

    He said: “If there is crises, nobody can guarantee victory of the party. We will abide by the court verdict. It is dangerous to democracy and the nation. The CJN should take note. We are using this medium to raise alarm.

     Secretary of the Forum, Hon Femi Adekanbi, asked security agencies to intervene in the issue.

He said, “Security agencies and others should note that there may be a breakdown of law and order in Ondo State and we may not be bake to guarantee peace. The Governor has disobeyed three court orders serially and we want the CJN to take note.”

 

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