Tag: Olanusi

A member, Board of Trustees (BOT) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Ondo State deputy governor, has affirmed his determination to ensure victory for the party in the November 26 poll.

He said his interest in the success of the  party was not a “personal ego”, but to bring change to governance.

Olanusi spoke while playing host to members of the Ondo State Flagship Group (OFG), led by former Commissioner for Transport Omoniyi Omodara, who visited him after defecting from PDP to the APC at the party’s secretariat in Akure, the state capital.

The group, with membership from the 18 local governments, was formed after the Supreme Court’s verdict on the 2012 governorship election, which returned the government for a second term in office, with Prof. Olu Agbi as its pioneer chairman.

Olanusi, who was former chairman of the state PDP, said as a democrat, he advised the Omodara’s led group to make their defection public at the APC secretariat before visiting him.

He pledged that members of the group would not regret their actions.

The APC leader said: “As a committed Muslim, I pray to Allah every day that APC will win the election and after the victory, your members will be rewarded.

“I move with credible people; those who are clean. I have never taken a bribe from anybody in my life. People, who are close to me used to say I am strict and stingy, but these attributes are purely on principles.”

Olanusi urged the defectors to plan ahead and work assiduously for the APC in their localities to facilitate victory, saying: “It is not how long, but how well, and I know Allah will reward your determination.”

He  thanked Omodara for leading other defectors to his residence, assuring the OFG members that the former commissioner would not mislead them in the new assignment to ensure victory for the APC.

The Oba-Ile born politician and former chairman of Akure North said the OFG was registered as a socio-political group with a vision to aggregate the support of the people for the enthronement of good governance.

He alleged that Mimiko held the PDP by the jugular after joining the party and derailed its internal democracy, stressing that they could not remain in a party riddled with confusion and instability.

Omodara hailed the Buhari administration’s anti-corruption crusade and war against Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.

The APC Chairman, Isaac Kekemeke, while welcoming the OFG members to the party, said its doors were opened till November 26, adding that the primary election would be transparent.

He urged the APC stakeholders to go out and work for the victory of the party, stressing that there is need for a change of government in Ondo State.

The High Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, yesterday adjourned till April 27 judgment in the suit filed by impeached Deputy Governor Ali Olanusi.

Olanusi, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Board of Trustees, sued the House of Assembly and others for his impeachment, which he described as “unconstitutional”.

Olanusi, who was in court, was represented by Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), Olusola Oke and others.

The defendants were represented by the Attorney General, Eyitayo Jegede(SAN) and others.

Akintola described Olanusi’s impeachment as “most unconstitutional”.

He said the seven-man panel set up by the House of Assembly to probe the allegations against Olanusi sat on April 24, last year and passed its recommendations the same day.

The counsel told the Justice Rotimi Olamide-led court that there was no proof of service of the impeachment notice on the lawmakers,describing the development as an oddity.

His words: “In less than 24 hours, the notice to appear before the panel to investigate our client was passed with no particular time indicated.

“As shown on Exhibit b paragraph 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the affidavit submitted on April 23,last year, the date which the panel was purportedly inaugurated and service of notice purportedly placed on claimant’s residence was done on the same date.

“The panel sat on April 24 as confirmed through the affidavit and it was upon this evidence that we deduced that that the claimant was not served personally.”

Akintola noted that there was a letter to Governor Olusegun Mimiko on April 17, last year that his deputy (Olanusi) had travelled outside the state.

He added that Exhibit 3A also confirmed that the purported  notice of impeachment was not  issued in the Assembly since it was not contained in its resolution.

The counsel argued that as was contained in Exhibit 8A at the time the panel granted the impeachment notice, it had not been set up based on paragraph 4( 5 and 6) of the defendant’s affidavit.

Akintola said Paragraph 4 (19 and 20) of the counter affidavit showed that the report of the panel ratified on April 24 was presented to the Speaker on April 27 (April 25 and 26) being Saturday and Sunday.

In addition to various authorities cited, he said the  impeachment process and steps taken were not only illegal, unconstitutional, null and void but a breach of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

He cited Inakoju Vs Adeleke (Supreme Court) and Danladi Vs Taraba government (Appeal Court) as case studies.

The legal icon, therefore, urged the court to grant his client’s reliefs and restore his position.

Besides, he pleaded that the “blantant” breach of the constitution should be corrected.

In his own submission, Jegede urged the court to grant his preliminary objection to strike out the suit for being incompetent and an abuse of office.

According to him, the originating summons filed by the claimant was not appropriate, insisting that there was no way it could be used to determine the case.

He pleaded that his submissions should be upheld.

Jegede alleged that when Olanusi was purportedly said to have travelled to Germany, he was in a hotel in Lagos for 14 days, adding that the impeachment notice was to be served on him within seven days.

The AG emphasised that the letter written by the impeached deputy governor was not a permission to travel, saying “on the particular fact of the case,Olanusi’s suit should be dismissed”.

Justice Olamide adjourned the case till April 27.

The Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure, the state capital has adjourned till November 3 the case by former Deputy Governor Ali Olanusi, challenging his impeachment.

The court will hear the defendant’s preliminary objections on the same date.

Olanusi is seeking the nullification of his impeachment on the grounds that due process was not followed.

His counsel, Jide Ajana, told reporters that the procedure of impeaching the former deputy governor contravened the 1999 Constitution.

He said the panel of investigation constituted and headed by Mr. Olatunji Stanley Adeniyan did not give Olanusi a fair hearing.

A panel was set up to look into allegations of misconduct against the former deputy governor.

Ajana said the panel did not allow Olanusi to appear before it and give him fair hearing in the allegations levelled against him.

During the hearing, the court granted the application of the defendants to file their responses out of time.

The court, however, ordered that a fine of N2,000 be paid.

The defendants’ counsel, Zeril Akinsola, raised an objection that Ajana, a former Attorney – General, could not appear for Olanusi.

In his ruling, Justice Rotimi Olamide ruled that Ajana was fit to appear for the claimant, adding that the objection lacked merit.

Speaking with reporters after the court session, Ajana said: “The constitution is very clear on the process of impeachment, what was done in this case is a flagrant violation of the constitution

“In fact they didn’t even attempt to follow the constitution in the so-called impeachment.

“When this is done, where there is such failure to abide by the constitutional process, the court has jurisdiction to intervene and to restore order.

“To restore order , I mean the court has jurisdiction to restore the purportedly impeached person back to his seat. And that is the situation in this case.”

THE Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday dismissed a suit filed by impeached former Ondo State Deputy Governor Ali Olanusi for being an abuse of court process.

Olanusi, who was removed from office on April 27, had prayed the court to nullify his impeachment for not following due process and for violating his rights.

But Justice Mohammed Idris held that the suit was similar to the one Olanusi filed in the court’s Akure Division.

He said it amounted to an abuse of court process for Olanusi to seek similar reliefs in the suit filed in the Lagos Division.

According to the judge, multiplicity of action constitutes an abuse of court process, where parties and reliefs sought are the same.

Justice Idris said the case in Ondo was filed on July 9, before the action was instituted in Lagos by Olanusi as the same claimant.

“It (the Ondo suit) is an Originating Summons, which raises the issues of fair hearing as raised in this action and which seeks reliefs similar to those sought in this action. Issues of the fundamental rights of the applicant were raised in that suit as in this suit. This cannot be allowed.

“Institution of a fresh action between the same parties or even similar parties on the same subject-matter simultaneously when the previous suit has not been disposed of constitutes an abuse of court process.

“I hold, therefore, that this suit was filed in abuse of the processes of the court in the light of suit number AK/51/2015,” the judge held.

Justice Idris also held that he had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit. He faulted the joining of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) as a defendant.

He said Mr. Solomon Arase played no role in Olanusi’s impeachment and should not have been joined.

Olanusi had sued the IGP and the chairman of the  seven-man investigative panel, Mr. Olatunji Adeniyan.

The case was filed at the Akure Division of the Federal High Court but was transferred to the Lagos Division because, according to Olanusi’s lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, the trial judge in Ondo, Justice I.N. Sanni, was on vacation.

Olanusi sought order quashing the proceedings and report of the seven-man impeachment panel, which indicted him and led to his removal as the deputy governor.

According to him, the panel’s sitting, proceedings and submission of its report in one-day denied him the right to fair hearing as enshrined in Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.

He sought a declaration that the failure to give him adequate time and facility, as guaranteed under the constitution, to defend the allegation of misconduct is a breach of his right to fair hearing and fair trial.

Besides, he said the panel failed to personally serve him with the allegation of misconduct. He urged the court to declare the notice null and void.

In a supporting affidavit, the applicant said: “The rules of natural justice were not observed by the respondents in the proceedings of the first respondent and the removal of the applicant as the deputy governor of Ondo State.

“The applicant was shamefully removed and disgraced out of office without fair hearing, regard for due process of law and the sanctity of the law and the constitution.

“The applicant’s right to fair hearing and fair trial have been unfairly and oppressively trampled upon by the respondents.”

Twenty-two of the state’s 26 lawmakers endorsed Olanusi’s impeachment motion a few days after he left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He was Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s running mate on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in 2007 and became deputy governor in 2009 after the Court of Appeal declared Mimiko winner of the 2007 governorship election.

He remained deputy after the pair won the election in 2014. They both defected to the PDP in October 2014.