Senators Lock Horns Over New PDP

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic (PDP) yesterday briefly disrupted the Senate proceedings as senators Danjuma Goje and Smart Adeyemi engaged themselves in fiery verbal exchanges over the split or otherwise of the PDP.

Senator Adeyemi (Kogi) insisted that the PDP remained “one party” while Goje (Gombe) said he only recognised the Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led “new” PDP.

But Senate president David Mark’s quick intervention saved the situation from aggravating.
The development came on the heels of the disclosure by the Niger State governor, Babangida Muazu Aliyu, that the struggle of the new PDP and, by extension, of the G-7 governors has been hijacked by external forces.

Within the premises of the National Assembly, President Jonathan’s political adviser, Ali Ahmed Gulak, denied the presidency’s involvement in the alleged $25,000 inducement of lawmakers to effect changes in the House of Representatives.

Trouble started when Senator Goje, while contributing to a motion, “Demise of Olusegun Kokumo Agagu, the former Governor of Ondo-State”, made references to the old and new PDP.

The development prompted Senator Adeyemi to raise a point of order, relying on Order 53(7) of the Senate Standing Rules. Adeyemi described Goje’s statement on the PDP as “out of order and offensive” just as he tagged the new PDP a “mushroom” arrangement.

The Baraje-led “new PDP” had, along with seven governors (G7) of the splinter PDP , visited the Senate president where they made a key demand that President Goodluck Jonathan must drop his “third term” plan.
At yesterday’s session, Adeyemi said: “For a distinguished senator, a former governor to insult the ruling party, a party that he has not decamped from, is not acceptable. As at now, Senator Goje is still a member of the PDP; so it will be wrong of him to say that there are two parties within the PDP. The PDP is one party.

“I want him (Goje) to withdraw that statement saying the new and the old PDP. In this chamber, we have one PDP and I think you will agree with me that PDP is the only party registered by INEC. For anybody in this hallowed chamber to lay claim to two PDP is unconstitutional.

“As far as the constitution is concerned, INEC is the sole body with responsibility of accrediting parties. Mr President, we have one PDP that is duly registered by INEC.”

But Goje retorted: “Let me make it clear: I am a foundation member of the PDP since 1998. In Eagle Square then, we formed the PDP. Now, I am a member of the PDP led by Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje.”

Senate president Mark, amidst the exchanges, insisted that the issue of the legitimate chairman of the PDP would not be subject to debate at Senate plenary. Mark said: “The issue of who is chairman of PDP cannot be an issue for debate on the floor here. The point is that you are a member of PDP and therefore PDP remains one united, strong and largest party in black Africa.”

Presidency denies involvement in alleged $25,000 inducement of lawmakers
The special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, yesterday went to the National Assembly on a suspected lobby mission he tagged “moves to cement the relationship between the legislature and executive”.

Gulak, when cornered by newsmen inside the National Assembly premises, stated that reported moves by the Jonathan camp to destabilise the House of Representatives leadership was misplaced. He equally denied the reported $25,000 bribe purportedly from the presidency for pro-Jonathan representatives.

Gulak said: “This is another arm of government; it is not out of the ordinary if the adviser to the president on political matters visits the National Assembly. I have come here to visit a friend and some of our friends in the legislature and, unfortunately, most of them have gone for oversight functions.

“The purpose of my visit is part of the processes of trying to meet our friends, discuss with them and move the country forward. We intended to meet the speaker but unfortunately he is not around. My visit today is part of moves to cement the relationship between the legislature and executive which is normal.”

On moves to destabilize the House of Representatives leadership, he said: “You know Mr President will never and cannot be part of destabilising the National Assembly. You will agree with me that this president we have will never support any move to destabilise the National Assembly. The National Assembly is a pillar of this administration  that stabilizes the polity, and destabilising it will not be good for the country.”

On the reported $25, 000 bribe for pro-Jonathan representatives: “That is not true; it can never be true.You know Mr President  is a different president. Please and please, and I plead with you to see him as who he is: he says what he means and means what he says. Since he became president, he is the only one whose tenure has not been bogged down by the so-called banana peels in the National Assembly. He supports the stabilisation of the National Assembly. All these stories are figments of people’s imagination especially those who believe that they ought to be in the lead in this country and not the present leadership.”

External forces want to hijack our struggle - Aliyu
Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has said that external forces were trying to aggravate and hijack the fight of the new Peoples Democratic Party, insisting that the fight was an internal affair of the PDP.
Aliyu, who spoke yesterday in Minna while receiving the corps commander artillery of the Nigeria Army, Kotangora, Major General Husseini Saliu Abayomi, said that some external forces were trying to frustrate the on-going process to reconcile the two factions of the PDP.

Apparently expressing the readiness of the G-7 governors for reconciliation and striking an accord with the Tukur faction, Aliyu said: “Those of us who are involved in it (the fight) are mature enough to know when to go and where to go. I want to use this opportunity to say that what is happening in PDP is an internal affair of PDP, because I am beginning to see a sign, as if some people don’t want the reconciliation”

According to Aliyu, “the kind of article you see in the papers is like some people are out there trying to make sure that there is no reconciliation. No! The whole essence is for democratic culture to be built in the party because, without it, democracy may not necessarily flourish”.

He stated that the struggle was that of democracy and morality: “Morality, meaning that if you make an agreement whether private or public we must learn to do it, like we promised in the past; if you do this, I will give you this. Those are the essential internal aspects of the fact, and we have the capacity to resolve whatever the difference is.

“We must not allow people who are outside the party to get involved in a problem that is not their own and, in the process, they kill that which we want to do. I need to call your attention today because I have been reading a lot of articles.”

Contempt: PDP wants court to jail Oyinlola, Baraje, Jaja.
Oyinlola knows fate tomorrow
Meanwhile, the PDP has filed a contempt proceedings against former Osun State governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola and two others over his continued claim of being a national secretary of the PDP.

The Ogun State chapter of the PDP is led by its chairman, Adebayo Dayo, and secretary, Semiu Sodipo.
Apart from Oyinlola, the PDP also named other  alleged contemnors as the factional chairman of the new PDP, Kawu Baraje, and a former National Working Committee member, Sam Sam Jaja.

The action is aimed at committing Oyinlola and others to prison for allegedly flouting a subsisting judgment of the court sacking the ex-governor as PDP’s national secretary.

The applicants had alleged  that Oyinlola’s continued claim to being national secretary of the PDP (including the purported new PDP) and his authorship of letters and notices in that capacity amounted to deliberate violations of the court’s orders in its judgments of  April 27, 2012, and January 11, this year.

They also accused Baraje and Jaja of conspiring and aiding Oyinlola to flout the court’s orders, voiding his claim to the national secretary seat of the party.

They further  accused the alleged contemnors of acting to frustrate the outcome of Oyinlola’s appeal against the judgements by their actions.

Arguing the application on Monday, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede, told the court that the application by his clients, which also seeks extension of time, was informed by the fact that the south-west PDP held the extraordinary meeting outside the 21 days provided in the order of the court contained in the January judgment.

He argued that the court was empowered, under Order 48 Rule 4 of the court’s Civil Procedure Rules, to extend the time it stipulated for the taking of an action.

Although the defendants responded to  the application and also filed written addresses, they were absent in court on Monday.

Justice Abdukadir Abdul-Kafarati deemed the defendants’ processes as adopted and adjourned till  Friday for ruling.

The judge ordered the applicants to serve documents in relation to the contempt proceedings on the alleged contemnors, following which a date will be set for hearing.

PDP crisis: Court rules on Tukur’s faction’s objection to nPDP suit October 10
Also, a Lagos High Court in Ikeja will on October 10 rule on the preliminary objection by Tukur challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain a suit filed by the Abubarkar Baraje-led faction of the party.

Justice Oludotun Adefope-Okojie fixed the date after listening to arguments from lawyers to all parties in the suit.

The Baraje faction had urged the court for an order restraining Tukur and three others from parading themselves as national officers of the party pending the determination of the case.

Apart from Tukur, other defendants in the case are Mr Uche Secondus, deputy national chairman; Dr Kema Chikwe, women leader; and Mr Olisa Metuh, national publicity secretary. Other claimants in the suit are Dr Sam Jaja and Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
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The defendants had, on September 18, urged the court to strike out the suit for want of jurisdiction, arguing that the writs of summons did not comply with the mandatory requirements of Section 97 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act because they were not signed.

At the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, the claimants’ lawyer, Mr Robert Emukpaeruo, urged the court to dismiss the preliminary objection.

Emukpaeruo said the court has the jurisdiction to entertain the matter, stressing that the judgment of the court can be enforced against the defendants.

“The mere fact that the defendants are not resident in Lagos State does not mean that the court does not have jurisdiction over the matter,” he said.

But, in his response, lawyer to the defendants Dr Amaechi Nwaiwu (SAN) argued that Emukpaeruo’s submissions on the issue of jurisdiction were misconceived.

“The issue of physical effectiveness is a post-judgment matter and the main issue is the competence of your lordship to adjudicate on this matter,” Nwaiwu said.

The lawyer further submitted that the writs of summons were not properly endorsed under the Sheriff and Civil Process Act.

Also  Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), counsel to Secondus, Chikwe and Metuh, agreed with Nwaiwu’s submissions and urged the court to dismiss the suit, stressing that its jurisdiction was circumscribed by law.