PDP Convention: Appeal Court Clears Olafeso-led Delegates in S’West

Reprieve came the way of the Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and his group loyal to Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-west, as the party cleared the delegates elected by Eddy Olafeso-led leadership to attend the party’s December 9 National Convention.

Earlier, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment delivered by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, ruled that Makarfi remains the authentic caretaker chairman, while he outlawed the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led executive and branded them as impostors.

But the matter became contentious again when the National Vice-Chairman, South-west of the Sheriff faction, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe, had approached the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti, where he got a favourable judgment that it remains the recognised executive in the zone.

Makanjuola had in a suit number FAC/AD,CS/18/2017, said the Supreme Court judgment didn’t invalidate his executive, saying the verdict only affected the national body led by Sheriff.

Makanjuola, had in the suit filed before Justice Taiwo Taiwo, prayed for an interlocutory order to commit the Olafeso-led executive to jail for allegedly parading themselves as authentic zonal leadership and also sought for an interim order stopping the group from participating in the December 9 convention.

To counter Makanjuola’s group, the Olafeso group approached the court to plead for a stay of proceedings at the lower court because of the urgency demanded by the convention coming up on Saturday.

Delivering a ruling on the application for stay of execution of the proceedings at the lower court, Justice Ahmad Belgore of the Court of Appeal, Ado-Ekiti, granted all the prayers of the Olafeso-led South-west PDP.