Two sources close to Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State have detailed how Mr. Oyinlola is having a hard time figuring how to influence members of the Osun State electoral appeal tribunal who are on the verge of delivering their verdict on the 2007 gubernatorial elections.
Two sources close to Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State have detailed how Mr. Oyinlola is having a hard time figuring how to influence members of the Osun State electoral appeal tribunal who are on the verge of delivering their verdict on the 2007 gubernatorial elections.
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Both sources told Saharareporters that Mr. Oyinlola has recruited Senator Iyiola Omisore to act as intermediary in a scheme to bribe willing members of the appellate court.
Part of Omisore’s enthusiasm in the task is that both Mr. Oyinlola and former President Olusegun Obasanjo have indicated their endorsement of him as the PDP’s governorship candidate in the 2011 elections.
The Ooni of Ife, a Yoruba monarch who dabbles in partisan politics, also supports Omisore's ambition.
One source revealed that the frenzied efforts to reach and compromise the tribunal have led Omisore to make desperate moves to reach Justice Olufunlola Adekeye of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. The source disclosed that Mr. Omisore and Justice Adekeye are from the same part of Osun State, hence the senator’s bid to solicit her help in reaching out to the justices handling the Osun governorship case.
The panel had on November 1 adopted the final addresses of the counsel for both the plaintiff, Mr. Raufu Aregbesola of the AC, and Mr. Oyinlola, the principal defendant.
“Governance has ground to a halt in Osun since the court adopted the addresses,” said one source in the state, adding, “Governor Oyinlola has been dogged by the fear that what transpired in Ekiti state was likely to befall him as well.”
A few weeks ago, an appellate court removed Mr. Segun Oni of the PDP from the governorship seat in Ekiti, ruling that Mr. Kayode Fayemi was the rightful winner of the re-run governorship tussle in 2009.
One of our sources reported that Senator Omisore had assured Oyinlola that Justice Mrs. Adekeye had contacted two of the justices involved in the Osun State electoral panel. However, the source told Saharareporters that Omisore had not confirmed if the two justices had agreed to “play ball.”
A difference source revealed that Oyinlola had also approached House Speaker Dimeji Bankole and Senate President David Mark to assist him in securing victory at the tribunal.
An opposition member of the AC told our correspondent that Mr. Dimeji has been roaming Osun State lately “in the hope that his presence might intimidate the judges into awarding Oyinlola victory.”
“The Ooni, Omisore, Bankole and Chief Obasanjo are determined to work for Governor Oyinlola’s victory in order to clear the way for Senator Omisore to run,” said a PDP source.
A verdict declaring AC candidate Aregbesola as the governor would mean that no gubernatorial elections would hold in Osun State for the next four years.
“Senator Omisore feels uncomfortable about the prospect of losing the governorship because some citizens of the state are clamoring for his proper trial for the assassination of Chief Bola Ige,” said one of our sources.
Part of Oyinlola’s scheme involved the recruitment of Justice Gloria Oladoke, President of the Osun State Customary Court of Appeal, to influence the appellate panel. Our source said that Governor Oyinlola had asked Ms. Oladoke, who is reported in an amorous relationship with Tajudeen Oladipo, a top PDP chieftain, to “help soften the panel in his favor.”
As part of its intimidation tactics, the PDP machinery has launched a blistering attack on the President of the Court of Appeals, Justice Ayo Salami. Salami, who chaired the Ekiti appellate panel that removed Mr. Oni as governor, has been accused of ruling for the AC because of ties between "his son", Akin Salami, who is a lawyer, and former Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos, an AC chieftain. Akin Salami served as a special assistant to Governor Tinubu on land matters. But Justice Salami has denied ever fathering Akin. Also, Akin Salami has publicly denied any familial relationship with Justice Salami.
The PDP had also penciled down Justice Kekere-Ekun for attack. The party had initially feared that Justice Kekere-Ekun would be part of the Osun governorship panel. Governor Bola Tinubu had appointed Justice Kekere Ekun's husband to the Lagos State University Board. The PDP set out to focus on that appointment to undermine Justice Kekere-Ekun’s impartiality. In the end, she was not included as a member of the panel.
Justice Clara Bata Ogunbiyi is presiding over the Osun governorship appeal case. The other justices on the panel are M. L. Garba, Paul A. Galinge, Adamu Jawuro, and C. C. Nweze.
One source told Saharareporters that Mr. Oyinlola had deliberately not approached Attorney General Bello Adoke to help reach out to the appellate panel. Oyinlola’s team is said to be unhappy with Mr. Adoke’s refusal to cooperate with a plan by the Nigerian police force in Abuja to try Mr. Aregbesola on forgery charges. “The police had wanted to hire an Ilorin-based lawyer, Lawal Rabana, SAN, to thrash Aregbesola before the tribunal’s verdict, but Adoke has so far resisted the move,” said the source.
President Goodluck Jonathan has also steered clear of the case. A source close to his office said Jonathan was upset by Oyinlola’s solid support for Ibrahim Babangida’s campaign to win the PDP’s ticket to run for the presidency.
The Osun governorship verdict is expected to be delivered within the next two weeks.
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