The Senator Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, filed a motion before the Supreme Court seeking a stay of all proceedings before the Court of Appeal in relation to the appeals pending the determination of the two appeals they filed on October 31.
This is as they asked the Court of Appeal to disband the fresh panel that was set up by its president (PCA), Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to hear the appeals relating to the dispute over the governorship candidate of the party Party in Ondo State.
The motion filed by two members of the party, Benson Akingboye and Ehiozuwa Agbonayiwa particularly seeks stay of “all further proceedings and further hearing in CA/ ABJ/402A/2016 filed on behalf of the PDP by a lawyer engaged by the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the party’s leadership.
They hinged the motion on among others that it was wrong to allow the Court of Appeal to proceed with the appeals when they have valid appeals before the Supreme Court, which challenged the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal.
They said: “As the first and second respondents in the lower court, they (Akingboye and Agbonayiwa) challenged by way of preliminary objection the validity of the appeal which originated the appeal at the court below. “Apart from the said objection, there arose in the court below the issue of representation for the Peoples Democratic Party as two counsel laid conflicting claims to being the counsel authorised by the said party to act for it in this appeal.
“Neither the said pre liminary objections of the applicants herein nor the said issue of which particular legal practitioner is authorized to represent the PDP was resolved before the court below fixed the substantive appeal for hearing. “By fixing the substantive appeal for hearing, the court below thereby postponed the ruling or decision on it until the hearing of the whole appeal or case.
The interlocutory appeal is capable of disposing of, or terminating, the substantive appeal. “This application could not be first brought at the court below due to the fact that the appeal had been entered at the Supreme Court when it was filed.” The application asking the Court of Appeal to disband the fresh panel set up by the PCA was filed by members of state executive of the PDP in the South West led by the factional chairman of the Ondo PDP, Mr. Biyi Poroye. They argued that the panel was set up in breach of the applicant’ right to fair hearing guaranteed under Section 36 of the Constitution.
