Drama as NNPP chairman gov candidate clash over tribunal counsel
A schism is brewing in the New Nigeria Peoples Party between the party's Ogun State chairman, Sunday Oginni, and its governorship candidate, Olufemi Oguntoyinbo, over the selection of counsel to handle their tribunal case.
The NNPP had filed a petition before the Ogun State Election Petition Tribunal in Isabo, Abeokuta, challenging the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Dapo Abiodun's, victory on March 18, 2023.
However, the crisis erupted on Friday when Oguntoyinbo requested that the party's counsel be changed in its petition to the tribunal.
On Friday, some sections of the media reported that the tribunal had granted Oguntoyinbo's request that the party's counsel, Peter Ogah of the Law Firm of Peter Ogah & Partners, step down from the case.
The NNPP is contesting the Independent National Electoral Commission's alleged omission of the party's name from ballot papers for the governorship election.
The party claimed that this was a violation of the Electoral Act.
In an affidavit deposed by the state Chairman, Oginni Olaposi, the NNPP insisted that it filed the petition because it was dissatisfied with the election results.
However, in a motion filed on Tuesday, April 11, Oguntoyinbo requested that the court appoint another counsel, Isaac Dale Izunya of Izunya Izunya & Co, to take over the case from Peter Ogah of Peter Ogah & Partners.
However, in response to the motion, the tribunal's Secretary, Ezenta Obioma, stated that the tribunal had yet to begin proceedings on the petitions received.
Although Ezenta stated that a party had filed a motion for a change of counsel, "the Tribunal has not yet decided on the motion."
When asked when the Tribunal would begin sitting, the Secretary of the Tribunal stated, "We are still in the filing stage, so I cannot tell you exactly when the Tribunal will begin sitting."
The state Chairman of the NNPP, on the other hand, denied that the party had changed counsel, saying that Ogah remained the lawyer appointed by the party's State Executive Council to represent the party at the Tribunal.
"I want to assure you that the Ogun State NNPP has not and will never replace our counsel, who has been performing admirably for us at the Tribunal."
"He (Ogah) did the right thing by filing our petition at the appropriate time, so we have a petition that is alive and kicking," said Peter Ogah, the counsel approved by the State Executive Council and Ogun State Chairman, Comrade Oginni Olaposi Sunday.
"The only petition of the NNPP at the Ogun 2023 Governorship Tribunal is deposed of an affidavit by my humble self, so nobody else has the power to replace our counsel," Oginni said.
Leave A Comment