By KOLA OLABISI
It is worthwhile to inform the opposition and their co-travellers who have been basking in the euphoria of the purported disqualification of the candidature of Governor Gboyega Oyetola by the Federal High Court, Abuja, over the ongoing governorship election petition tribunal in Osogbo, that they have failed and have their mission bungled again as the controversial decision has no effect on the subsisting election petition in Osogbo.
It is an indisputable fact that the respondent has 14-day window of inalienable right to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.
It is only if the appeal is not filed within the stipulated 14 days allowed by the Constitution that the judgement becomes permanent and binding.
It would be recalled that the Osun State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Gboyega Famodun, had stated the readiness of Governor Oyetola to challenge the judgement with a view to upturning the decision.
The import of this explanation is that the tribunal will go ahead with its sessions unhindered while the legal fireworks on the appeal against the Federal High Court decision too would be carried on without any let or hindrance.
Information revealed that it was the fear of the potency of the grounds of the petition filed by Oyetola at the governorship election petition tribunal that is prompting the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to resort to instituting frivolous, time-wasting and distractive matters in different courts.
It is necessary to explain this matter in order to educate the unsuspecting members of the public that Governor Oyetola’s petition is unshakeable at the tribunal and that all lawful means would be exploited to seek redress in the interest of the good people of Osun State.
Those who are misleading and misinforming the members of the public on the true position of the development in the governorship election petition tribunal on both traditional and social media should desist from doing so as its unintended consequences might be catastrophic.
This indeed is bad news for the jubilant opposition and their enemies within who have been pretending to be members of the APC but are assiduously and conscientiously working against the party and its governorship candidate, Oyetola.
The recent Federal High Court episode was indeed a blessing to Governor Oyetola as it affords him more opportunity to know those who are fully with him in both body and spirit and those who are with him only physically while their spirits are elsewhere.
It was discovered that the hoopla created by the suspicious disqualification of Governor Oyetola was more resounding among the rebellious tendency of the APC who flooded the social media space with unprintable remarks indicating that they were wildly jubilating over the development apparently meant to merely disorganise and distract Oyetola, the Osun APC and its members.
One noticeable anomaly with the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja, is that there are copious decisions from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court that are at variance with the latest decision.
I have explicit confidence in the Court of Appeal that the latest decision of the Federal High Court would be overturned because there is no basis for the court’s decision in this instance.
It would be recalled that the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Ondo State governorship election had validated the Governor Mai Mala Buni Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the APC.
The judgment of the Supreme Court clarified that Buni’s position as acting chairman of the committee wasn’t contrary to the provision of Section 183 of the Constitution.
It would also be recalled that the Supreme Court had affirmed that Buni’s position of acting chairman of the CECPC was held temporarily which wasn’t akin to Executive office or paid employment as envisaged by Section 183 of the Constitution.