The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Clement Faboyede

  • Court sacks Ondo lawmaker as PDP candidate

    A Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Tuesday ordered a federal lawmaker, Bode Ayorinde to stop parading himself as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the forthcoming House of Representatives election.

    Ayorinde, who defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC)last year is the incumbent member of the House of Representatives, representing Owo/Ose Federal Constituency of Ondo State.

    The court ordered the National Secretariat of the PDP to remove Ayorinde ‘ s name and send the name of Mr. Sodiq Obanoyen to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)as the candidate of the party.

    Obanoyen was said to have won the House of Representatives primary in the Owo/Ose Federal constituency, held in Owo in October, 2018.

    He reportedly scored 107 votes while Ayorinde polled 73 votes.

    However, the party sent Ayorinde’s name to the INEC as the party’s candidate for the election.

    Obanoyen was disqualified by the party.

    Having not satisfied with the development, Obanoyen challenged the action of the party at the court.

    Defendants are the PDP, the chairman of the Ondo State PDP Clement Faboyede, Ayorinde and the INEC. as first, second, third and fourth defendants.

    Counsel to the third defendant ( Ayorinde), Mr. Tolu Babaleye, in one of his prayers, asked the court to uphold the disqualification of the plaintiff on the grounds that the Obanoyen did not resign his appointment as a legislative aide to the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekeremadu before obtaining the form to contest,saying the action was said to be against the party’s election guidelines.

    The plaintiff’s legal team, led by Remi Olatubora, however, presented the evidence that showed the appropriate resignation of its client to the court.

    In his judgement,Justice Abdul Dogo struck out the prayers of the first and third defendants for lack of merit.

    Read Also; Appeal Court to hear CJN’s appeal Thursday

    The court also held that the plaintiff duly tendered his resignation letter before obtaining the form and thereby qualified to contest the election.

    According to him,” The first defendant ( PDP) is hereby ordered to forward the name of the plaintiff to the fourth defendant as the candidate of the first defendant in the election.

    “Also, the third defendant ( Ayorinde) is hereby restrained from parading himself as the candidate of the first defendant in the election.

    ” The fourth defendant is hereby restrained from recognising the third defendant as the candidate of the first defendant in the election.”

    Olatubora hailed the court’s judgement, saying the judgment confirmed that the judiciary was still working in the country,

    Counsel to Ayorinde, Tolu Babaleye said he would need to consult his client to determine the next line of action on the matter.

  • The absence of Justice Saliu of the Federal High Court in Lagos Monday stalled the trial of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chairman in Ondo State Clement Faboyede.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) arraigned him and the party’s 2015 campaign director in the state Modupe Adetokunbo for alleged money laundering.

    Read Also:PDP governorship aspirant urges unity to protect ancestral lands

    Justice Saidu is said to be away for the annual judges’ conference in Abuja, which is held as a precursor to the new legal year.

    October 26 has been fixed for their trial.

    EFCC accused them of receiving N500million in cash from Owolanke Michael ahead of the 2015 general election.

    Faboyede was accused of making N500million cash payment to the Ondo PDP Election Committee.

    The prosecution said the defendants committed the offence on March 27, 2015, thereby contravening Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, punishable under Section 16(2).

    Faboyede and Adetokunbo pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned on June 29 and were granted bail for N50million each with one surety in like sum.

    The sureties, said the judge, must either be federal or state civil servants not below level 15 or landed property owners within the court’s jurisdiction.

    The sureties were directed to deposit the title documents and two passport sized photographs each at the court’s registry.

    The defendants were also ordered to deposit their international passports at the court’s registry while the prosecution was given a week to verify the sureties’ documents.

  • Money laundering: PDP chieftain’s trial begins September 17

    Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday fixed September 17 for the trial of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman in Ondo State, Clement Faboyede.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) arraigned Faboyede and the party’s 2015 campaign director in the state, Modupe Tokunbo, for alleged money laundering.

    The Commission accused the duo of receiving N500million in cash from Owolanke Michael ahead of the 2015 general election.

    Faboyede was accused of making N500million cash payment to the Ondo PDP Election Committee.

    Prosecuting counsel, E‎kene Iheanacho, said the defendants committed the offence on March 27, 2015.

    The alleged offence contravenes Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 and is liable to punishment under Section 16(2) of the same Act.

    They pleaded not guilty on June 29 and were remanded in prison pending ruling on their bail application.

    Ruling on Thursday, Justice Hassan held that the alleged offence was one for which bail could be granted.

    “The sole issue for determination is whether or not the defendants are entitled to bail pending trial bearing in mind that the essence of bail is to ensure the attendance of the defendants for their trial.

    “The defendants were arraigned before this court on a three-count charge of conspiracy and money laundering.

    “According to the provisions of the Money Laundering Act, the punishment for the offence is a jail term of not less than two years or an option of fine.

    “I am in agreement with the defence lawyer that the alleged offence is bailable,” the judge ruled.

    Justice Hassan faulted the grounds upon which the prosecution opposed the bail application.

    He added: “The prosecution cannot oppose bail merely on routine procedure. There must be a cogent reason for opposing bail.

    “The allegations against the defendants remain mere allegations until it is decided one way or the other by the court.

    “In arriving at the decision whether to grant or refuse bail, it is my duty as a judicial officer to balance the interests of the state, defendants and that of the general public in coming to a judicious conclusion.

    “In doing this, I am of the view that the judicious discretion in the circumstance of this case is to grant bail to the defendants.

    “More so, the defendants/applicants were earlier granted bail by the prosecution prior to their arraignment and there is no evidence to show that they jumped the bail.

    “Having regard to the foregoing, the defendants/ applicants’ application for bail succeeds and bail is hereby granted.”

    The judge granted them bail in the sum of N50million each with one surety in like sum.

    The sureties, said the judge, must either be federal or state civil servants not below level 15 or landed property owners within the court’s jurisdiction.

    The sureties were directed to deposit the title documents and two passport sized photographs each at the court’s registry.

    The defendants were also ordered to deposit their international passports at the court’s registry while the prosecution was given a week to verify the sureties’ documents.

     

     

     

  • N500m fraud: Ondo PDP Chair remanded in prison

    A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Friday remanded the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chairman in Ondo State, Clement Faboyede, and the party’s campaign director-general during the 2015 general election, Modupe Adetokunbo.

    Justice Saliu Saidu remanded both men in prison following their arraignment for allegedly receiving and laundering N500 million in the build-up to the 2015 general election.

    The duo were brought before the judge on a three-count charge of conspiracy and money laundering by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    EFCC counsel, Mr. Ekene Iheanacho, told the judge that Faboyede, Adetokunbo and others at large committed the offences on or about the March 27, 2015.
    Iheanacho alleged that they conspired to accept cash payment in the sum of N500m from one Owolanke Micheal which exceeded the N5 million threshold for which one need not go through a financial institution.

    In count three of the charge, marked FHC/ L/201C/2018, the anti-graft agency alleged that Faboyede, on March 27, 2015, paid the N500m to the PDP Ondo State Election Committee, without going through a financial institution.

    According to the prosecutor, the offences contravened Section 1 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended by Act 1 of 2012) and was punishable under Section 16(2) of the same Act.

    Read Also: EFCC arraigns ex minister, four others over money laundering

    Both defendants pleaded not guilty.

    Iheanacho prayed the court to remand them in prison and fix a trial date.

    This was opposed by defence counsel, Mr Eyitayo Jegede SAN, who made an oral application for their bail.

    But Justice Saidu directed Jegede to apply for their bail in writing.

    Responding, Jegede informed the court that he had filed a formal bail application but it had yet to reach the court’s file.

    Nevertheless, the judge remanded both defendants in prison custody pending when their bail applications will be entertained, and adjourned till September 17, for trial.

  • Sheriff cost us Ondo 2016 governorship poll – PDP

    Sheriff cost us Ondo 2016 governorship poll – PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State said on Tuesday it lost the 2016 governorship election held in the state to the All Progressives Party (APC) due to the conspiracy of its former National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff.

    The state Chairman of the party, Clement Faboyede, stated this while welcoming a National Chairmanship aspirant of PDP, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, to the party secretariat in Akure.

    Dokpesi was on a campaign tour to the state capital.

    Faboyede, who noted that PDP lost the election not because of its unpopularity but due to the protracted leadership tussle between Sheriff and the Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Makarfi.

    He lamented that there was no preparations for the election because of various litigations which deprived the party of opportunity to mobilise voters.

    He expressed optimism that the party would return to power in 2019.

    He also described Dokpesi as a loyal party man that deserves the position of PDP national chairman.

  • Ondo: Court stops INEC from removing Jegede as PDP’s Candidate

    An Akure High Court Thursday restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from substituting or replacing the name of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the November 26 governorship election in the state, Mr Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) already included  on the its list of candidates for the election.

    The ruling followed a suit filed by the factional State Chairman of the PDP,Clement Faboyede.

    In his judgment, Justice W R Olamide of the Akure High Court said it would be out of order for INEC to replace or substitute Jegede’s name.

    This, according to the court will contravene the principles of equity, justice and fairness.

    He said: “It is hereby ordered as prayed. The defendant is hereby restrained either by itself, Chairman, Commissioners, agents and servants, officers or privies or through any person or persons, however from changing , replacing ,removing, substituting or in any manner tampering with the name of Eyitayo Jegede  (SAN) as the governorship candidate in the governorship election slated for November  26, 2016 pending the determination of motion on notice.

    In another development, the Akure High Court has granted Hon. Bamiduro Dada an order restraining INEC and its agents from recognising Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP candidate  in the governorship election.

    The court also granted an injunction restraining Ibrahim from parading himself as the PDP gubernatorial candidate in the coming election.

    Dada who contested the primary election organised by the Senator Alli Modu Sherif faction of the PDP in Ibadan with Ibrahim based his prayer on the submission that the shadow election held in Ibadan was a fraud.

    In his ruling, Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi ruled that  Biyi Poroye and his cohorts cannot parade themselves  as state executives of the PDP and therefore cannot  take any action in respect of the party.

  • ‘We’re not privy to allegation against Ondo REC’

    ‘We’re not privy to allegation against Ondo REC’

    The All Progressives Congress in Ondo State on Monday debunked the report calling on the Police and Directorate of State Security (DSS) to investigate the activities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state.

    The state Publicity Secretary, of the party, Omo’ba Abayomi Adesanya, in a statement last Wednesday, also expressed the need for the total overhauling of staff in the Commission ahead of the November 26 governorship election in the state.

    Adesanya accused the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Segun Agbaje and the Commission’s Administrative Secretary, Alhaji Kabir Omosanya of complicity with the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State led by one Clement Faboyede.

    He alleged that the two top officers of the commission have been having shady deals through an unholy alliance with key loyalists of the  Governor Olusegun Mimiko to perpetrate fraud ahead of the forthcoming governorship poll.

    However, the APC chairman in the state, Isaac Kekemeke said his executives were not privy to the statement.

    According to him,“before any statement of such could be made public,or even any policy statement from the party executives,it must be agreed upon and ratified by the party executives.

    “But the publicity secretary who issued the statement to the press must have equipped himself with facts of the allegation,which spurred him to unilaterally fired the shot without inputs of the state excos.”

    Kekemeke said he received calls from many APC leaders within and outside the state on the sensitive allegation in order to ascertain its veracity,saying“I just told them that Adesanya must have got the proofs of the allegation before issuing the statement.

    “Although,the allegation had caused a lot of embarrassment to the party,but as the Party Chairman in the State,I have no pre-knowledge of the allegation,and none of my state executives was aware of it,we did nt discuss it at any of our meetings and as such,we are not a party to the allegation against the REC”

    The legal practitioner said the state executive remains committed to the victory of APC in the state on November 26.

    Kekemeke urged party members to work to remain calm and mobilise voters for the poll.