He has filed an appeal against the judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which removed him from office, and is also seeking a stay of execution of the judgment of Justice Abdu Kafarati.
In the face of reports that leading members of the ruling party had counseled him to step down following the court judgment against him, the former Osun State governor insists there is no basis for him to do so. He does not understand why he has to be drawn into the zonal congress controversy when the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who is a product of the zonal congress is not.
The former governor, who spoke through his media aide, Mr. Ayo Olaiya, said if the issue persists it will affect Tukur more than anyone else in the party hierarchy.
He said: “The argument of Oyinlola is that he was not a product of any zonal congress. So his nomination is not illegal. Oyinlola said he emerged at the National Convention after other contestants had publicly stepped down for him.
“He said at the South-West Congress in Osogbo, the only candidate endorsed was the National Vice-Chairman (South-West) of the PDP, Mr. Segun Oni.
“He said the application before the Federal High Court was baseless, an abuse of court process and ought not to have been entertained at all in the first instance.”
On pressure being placed on him to step aside, the media aide said: “There is nothing like that. Nobody in the party, including the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has asked Oyinlola to leave office. Oyinlola will not vacate his seat and any move to make him do so will be subjudice given the appeal already filed.
“Tukur or anybody could not have spoken to Oyinlola. All NWC members, except Tukur, emerged at the National Convention of the party, not at the zonal congress.
“If you can recall very well, Tukur was actually defeated by a former National Secretary of PDP, Babayo Shehu, at the North-East Congress before President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders prevailed on Shehu to step down for him.
“So, if there is any issue about zonal congress, it will affect Tukur more than any member of the NWC because he emerged contrary to the decision of the zonal congress.
“Therefore, if they are holding on to the so-called claim of zonal congress, whatever affects Oyinlola will weigh heavily on Tukur. That is why Tukur or anybody in NWC cannot ask Oyinlola to leave office.”
However, it was gathered that the plot to effectively terminate Prince Oyinlola’s reign as the National Secretary of the PDP gathered pace yesterday.
According to sources, some party leaders have shortlisted one time Transport Minister, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, National Vice Chairman of the PDP (South West), Chief Segun Oni and former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), Chief Ishola Filani, as possible candidates to replace him in an acting capacity.
The National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and some other leaders of the PDP are understood to have asked Prince Oyinlola to step aside until the determination of his appeal.
Investigation by our correspondent showed that some leaders of the PDP and those loyal to Tukur are insisting on Oyinlola stepping aside.
It was learnt that some of the leaders have tried to reach out to Oyinlola to “act true to type as a lawyer by respecting the judgment of the court to step aside.”
A party source said Tukur reiterated the same position when he interacted with party leaders and a couple of NWC members on Friday after the judgment.
The source said: “The party is expecting an enforcement order from the court to enable Oyinlola to vacate his seat till his matter is finally ironed out by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
“Once Oyinlola leaves office temporarily, the party will prevail on the South-West to pick a nominee as acting National Secretary among three candidates to be recommended. The party wants to stick to the zoning formula instead of asking the Deputy National Secretary to act.
“The candidates being considered are the National Vice-Chairman of PDP(South-West), Chief Segun Oni; a former National Organising Secretary of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria(UPN), Chief Ebenezer Babatope, and a former National Publicity Secretary of the former Social Democratic Party(SDP), Chief Ishola Filani.
“The opinion of some loyalists of Tukur is in favour of Oni, who is rated as more amenable than the others. But the party will go by the consensus of key stakeholders, including President Goodluck Jonathan.”
A member of the National Working Committee said: “What the leaders are saying is that Oyinlola must obey court order by vacating office until he secures a stay.
“Even if there is a court order for a stay of execution, the party will run into a crisis because any decision taken by Oyinlola would amount to nullity if he eventually loses at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. So, the National Secretariat will not function well and there can’t be a smooth working relationship between the National Chairman and Oyinlola.
“It is going to be a no-win situation for the party.”
A source close to the PDP Governors Forum said: “As far as the governors are concerned, Oyinlola won’t step aside at all. Instead, they have encouraged him to be steadfast because he remains their candidate for the job.
“The governors took note of the fact that a High Court is not a final court in the land. Therefore, hanging on to the High Court judgment would amount to mischief.”
Friday’s court decision on Oyinlola was greeted with jubilation in the camp of President Goodluck Jonathan and Tukur.
The president and his strategists are determined to regain control of the party ahead of the 2015 elections and do not consider Oyinlola as one whose control of the party’s secretariat would be of benefit to their camp.
Oyinlola was nominated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the state governors.
Culled From: Nation Newspaper
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