BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI
ABUJA—The ongoing power tussle amongst Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidates in Ogun State, yesterday, took a new twist, as the faction loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo urged a Federal High Court in Abuja to commit both Governor Gbenga Daniel and  factional chairman of the PDP, Elder Joju Fadairo, to prison over alleged contempt of court.

Gbenga and Obasanjo

They contended that the duo led other members of the party in the state to violate an order issued by the high court on January 26, by presenting one Gboyega Isiaka to the electorate in the state as the bonafide gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in Ogun State for the impending general election.

However, Presiding Justice Abdul Kafarati was not able to delve into the contempt charge before the court, as counsel to the PDP, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, insisted that the court should firstly hear a preliminary objection he had ab-initio raised against the propriety of the interim order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from recognizing the list of candidates loyal to Daniel.

PDP had told the high court on the last adjourned date that it would only recognize list compiled and submitted to it by the Chief Fadairo-led executive committee in Ogun State.

The party, while urging the court to vacate the restraining order which it said was made in error, equally maintained that it would only issue tickets to candidates that emerged from primaries conducted by its executive committee.

The party specifically argued that “the plaintiffs misrepresented to the court the fact that there was a harmonized executive committee of the party in Ogun State, led by one Chief Dayo Soremi, when no such committee exists and when the National Executive Committee or National Working Committee of the party did not ratify or approve any such harmonized executive committee.”

Insisting that “the plaintiffs concealed from this court the fact that an Abeokuta High Court had restrained the PDP from dissolving or interfering with the Chief Joju Fadairo’s executive committee of the party in Ogun State.

It consequently sought “an order discharging, setting aside or vacating the interim order of injunction made ex-parte by this court on January 26, 2011, having been made without jurisdiction and on the basis of concealed material facts and/or misrepresentation of facts by the plaintiffs”, stressing that “any order made by this court against the Chief Joju Fadiro led executive is an order made in vain and is incompetent”.

At the resumed hearing of the case, the party maintained that the onus was on the court to decide the issue of jurisdiction first before the contempt application filed by the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs are the factional PDP gubernatorial candidate, Chief Adetunji Olurin, Babatunde Fadun, Hon. Dave Salako, Mr. Wale Solaja and Seun Adesanya.

They were said to be among the anointed candidates of former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the impending general election in Ogun State.

They had in the said contempt motion, which they filed through their counsel, Chief Olagoke Fakunle, SAN, accused the Daniel’s faction of disrespecting the order of the high court by flagging-off their own campaign in Ogun State.

Meanwhile, after listening to submissions from both parties yesterday, presiding Justice Kafarati slated February 28 to decide whether to take the issue of jurisdiction that was raised by the PDP, first, or the contempt charge filed by the plaintiffs.

With this development, candidates loyal to Daniel would have to wait till that date to know their fate, even as the restraining order against their candidacy persists.

It would be recalled that the high court on January 26, restrained INEC from recognizing their own list, pending the determination of the originating summons filed in court by the plaintiffs.

Justice Kafarati had specifically ordered that “the 1st Respondent, INEC, and 2nd Respondent, PDP, are restrained from accepting, compiling, announcing, using, validating or otherwise acting upon the results of the primaries/congresses conducted in Ogun State pending the hearing of the originating summons.

“That the respondents are restrained from announcing or making any pronouncement validating the result of the primaries/congresses conducted in Ogun State by the dissolved Ogun State Executive Committee of the 2nd Respondent, pending the hearing of the originating summons.

The crisis originated when two PDP factions in Ogun State held parallel primary elections with a view to nominating candidates to INEC for the forthcoming general election.

While one of the faction pledged allegiance to the sitting governor of the state, Gbenga Daniel, the other group, however, pledged their loyalty to former President Obasanjo.

Whereas the Obasanjo faction produced former ECOMOG Commander, General Adetunji Olurin, as its governorship candidate, the Daniel’s faction produced Mr Adegboyega Nasir Isiaka as its own gubernatorial candidate for the same election.