A member of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Musa Arogundade, has landed in trouble for allegedly procuring a ‘fraudulent’ court judgment from an Abuja Federal High Court to emerge as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the April 11 elections.
A contestant in the PDP Assembly primary, Toyin Obayemi, has dragged Arogundade to a Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti seeking the nullification of his election as the lawmaker representing Ado Constituency 1.
Joined as defendants in the suit are Independent National Electoral Commission (1st), Odunayo Talabi, (2nd) who was declared winner of the primary, PDP (3rd)and Arogundade (4th).
Obayemi in his Originating Summons averred that Arogundade who did not participate in the Assembly primary election in which he served as agent to Talabi, “suddenly became a candidate at the election.”
The plaintiff further claimed that the first defendant (Arogundade) was substituted with Talabi after the general election had been concluded.
Obayemi further averred that although Talabi went to court to challenge the fraudulent replacement of his name with that of his agent, he (Talabi) was threatened to withdraw his case against Arogundade and he (Talabi) was later appointed as Special Assistant to the Governor on Works.
At the hearing of the case on Friday, the presiding judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, adjourned to May 17 for adoption of written addresses when all processes would have been exchanged among parties.
Speaking with reporters after the court rose, counsel to 2nd and 4th defendants, Bimpe Olatemiju, maintained that Talabi was duly substituted with Arogundade.
Olatemiju insisted that Arogundade participated in the primary contrary to the claim of Obayemi. Olatemiju advised Obayemi to wait for the opportunity of the next election to run for the seat again.
But Obayemi’s counsel, Olayinka Sokoya, insisted that the process that produced Arogundade as a lawmaker was “patently fraudulent” and aided by what he called “judicial rascality” perpetrated at an Abuja Federal High Court to claim the PDP Assembly ticket.
Sokoya said: “We have video evidence to prove that he (Arogundade) was an agent to the 3rd Respondent (Talabi). How can somebody who is an agent become a candidate in the same election? This is for the court to prove.
“The 3rd Respondent (Talabi) challenged this at the Federal High Court and abandoned the case. They will be made to explain how somebody who never participated in the primary as a contestant emerged as candidate.
We have documents, video tapes and pictures and by the time we oblige the court, the people will know what really transpired. It’s like judicial rascality and political rascality and we are challenging it.
“Arogundade signed the primary result sheet as a party agent, we will never allow this illegality to stand.”
In a related development, an interest group, the Fountain Alliance, has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate the alleged roles played by Arogundade, a Senior Advocate, Ahmed Raji; former Ekiti PDP Legal Adviser, Kolapo Kolade and Ekiti PDP Chairman, Idowu Faleye in the primary and the injunction secured in favour of the lawmaker.
In the petition addressed to the DSS Director General, Lawal Daura and signed by Fountain Alliance Secretary, Tope Olawande, the primary held in November 29, 2014 between Obayemi and Talabi with the former scoring one vote while the latter got 34 votes.
It reads in part: “Obayemi wrote a petition to the PDP Screening Committee assigned from Abuja on November 8th, 2014 that Mr. Odunayo Talabi presented a fake General School Certificate and Ordinary National Diploma Certificate.
“On receiving the petition that Mr. Odunayo Talabi is ineligible to contest, Mr. Musa Arogundade who was an agent to Talabi during the primary election colluded with Kolapo Kolade, Ahmed Raji (SAN) and Idowu Faleye on the instruction of Mr. Governor to secure the fraudulent injunction to replace Odunayo Talabi with Musa Arogundad.”
