ANXIETY
yesterday enveloped Ondo State as the Supreme Court ordered the three-man
special panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa to hear the
various appeals on crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) over its
governorship candidate.
The apex court
justices led the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen,
issued the order after 10 applications asking for stay of the Court of Appeal’s
proceedings were withdrawn by the applicant’s lawyer, Mr. Beluolisa Nwofor
(SAN).
The decision
now paves the way for the Appeal Court panel to deliver its judgments hitherto adjourned indefinitely in
the appeals filed by Jegede and a factional leader of the PDP, Ahmed Makarfi,
challenging the candidature of Jimoh Ibrahim of the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff
faction of the party. The Justice Saulawa panel had heard and reserved its
judgments on the appeals after hearing them between November 16 and 17. When
judgment is eventually delivered by today, tomorrow or Friday, the PDP will
know who, between Jegede and Ibrahim, is its candidate in the governorship
election holding on Saturday, November 26, 2916.
The Court of
Appeal had on November 18, suspended its proceedings with respect to all the
pending appeals relating to the dispute over the party’s ticket on the grounds
of the pending motions for stay of proceedings pending before the apex court.
This was after
it ruled that it would stay proceedings pending when the Supreme Court would
determine the motions for stay of proceedings and another setting aside the
November 16 proceedings of the appeal pending before the apex court.
The motions
for stay of proceedings were filed before the apex by nine respondents before
the appeal court who were led by Mr. Biyi Poroye.
But at the
hearing before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Poroye’s lawyer, Nwofor, withdrew
all the 10 motions seeking stay of proceedings of the appeal court.
The lawyer
withdrew the motions for stay of proceedings to pave the way for the hearing of
his motion seeking the setting aside of the proceedings of the appeal court
which were said to have been conducted on November 16 in defiance to pending
appeals and applications before the Supreme Court.
The
application to withdraw the 10 motions for stay was not opposed by other
lawyers appearing for other parties to the suit. Reading the lead ruling of the
apex court, Justice Onnoghen held that the motions for stay of proceedings
having been withdrawn, the appeal court “is ordered to continue its proceedings
forthwith”.
In another
ruling, the Supreme Court awarded a whooping N9 million as cost in favour of
the three Justices of the Court of Appeal panel after dismissing the motions
seeking to disband them from hearing the PDP governorship crisis in Ondo State.
The money
according to the apex court, is to be paid personally by counsel to the
applicants, Beluolisa Nwofor (SAN).
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