Ondo Gubernatorial tussle: Failure of Abraham to serve Akeredolu stalls proceedings

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday adjourned till Nov. 10 hearing in the case filed by Olusegun Abraham, one of the aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Ondo governorship election.

The hearing was adjourned due to failure of Abraham to serve the orders of the court on one of the defendants Mr Rotimi Akeredolu.

The court had asked Akeredolu to come and show cause why an interim order restraining INEC from recognising him as the candidate of APC in the fourth coming election should not be granted.

Abraham had through an ex parte motion to asked the court to declare the process that produced Akeredolu as governorship candidate of APC as illegal.

This, he said, was on the grounds that it did not conform with the constitution of the party and guidelines set by the party for the primaries.

But the trial judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, had insisted that since the matter was sensitive, it would be fair if all parties to the suit were present in court before the order was made.

At the resumed hearing, Mr Akin Olujimi (SAN), Counsel to Akeredolu, insisted that Counsel to Abraham had not served him with the orders of the court requiring the defendants to come and show cause.

Olujimi told newsmen that because service was not effected, the hearing could not go on.

“That order was not served on Akeredolu. We came here to show cause why he should not grant such an order.

“One of the grounds we relied on was that even that order which the judge gave that we should come and show cause why he should not grant that order has not been served on us.

“We merely heard that such an order was made by the court from one of the parties and that is not the same thing as serving a copy of the order on all the defendants.

“So, the court has asked them to go and serve the 2nd defendant with the order,”Olujimi said.

On his part, Dr Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), urged the court to dispense with the matter before the election on Nov. 26.

He said if not, the plaintiff would be permanently shut down from participating in the election.

Akinseye-George told pressmen that the defence team was only employing delay tactics in the matter because apparently their case had no substance.