BY KOLADE LAREWAJU
ABEOKUTA – THE National Vice-Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the South West, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, has disowned the Joju Fadairo- led executive of the party in Ogun State over the judgment the latter got on 9th February at an Abeokuta High Court to the effect that it was the authentic leadership of the crisis ridden party in the state.

Chief Joju Fadairo and 25 others, had on 1st February, dragged National Chairman of the Party; Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, National Secretary; Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo and the PDP to court, asking the court to declare it the authentic leader of the party in the state as against the Harmonized Executive led by Bashorun Dayo Soremi.

In getting judgment from Justice Adetokunbo Jibodu, the Joju Fadairo executive had claimed that all the respondents had been served and had entered appearances for the case.

But Alhaji Oladipo yesterday deposed to an affidavit at the Abeokuta High Court Registry declaring that he was not aware of the suit and that if he had been served, he would have entered an appearance to defend the suit as he was part of the harmonization process.

He said “I was not served with any process in that action and I did not instruct any lawyer to act for me.”
I did not know that a hearing in the case was scheduled for the 1st of February or that judgment had been reserved for the 9th of February, 2011.

If I had been aware of the suit I would have defended it seriously since I was the person directly involved in the dissolution and harmonization process which the Plaintiffs are said to have been complaining about. I have now been shown affidavits filed by Mudashiru Olaifa who claims to be a staff of the PDP in Ogun State and S A Adesanya who claims to be the bailiff of the Ogun State High Court and vehemently deny the contents of the affidavits.”

“I have never met the said bailiff at any time and never received Mudashiru Olaifa in my office anywhere. I neither received any process from them nor instructed anyone to collect any process from them and sign on my behalf in their affidavits.

The contents of those affidavits as relate to me are false and I verify believe that they should be set aside by the court and discountenanced. My Solicitor, Ajibola Oluyede has advised me and I verily believe him that an order for leave to serve the originating processes outside Ogun State at Ibadan is required before their could have been any attempt to serve at Ibadan as alleged in the said affidavits and the court’s records show that none was ever granted by the court”