The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa has asked the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Olusola Odusola to ignore the request of the Assembly to constitute a seven-man panel of investigators to probe allegations of gross misconduct against him.
This is contained in a seven-page letter written by the lead counsel for the Deputy Governor, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, submitted to the Chief Judge in Akure on Tuesday, 24 October 2023.
The Assembly had written a letter to the Chief Judge on 23rd October 2023, asking him to constitute a seven-man panel to probe the Deputy Governor, claiming that the orders of injunction granted by the Federal High Court, Abuja, have expired.
However, the Deputy governor through his lawyer opposed the position of the Assembly, which he said was based on conjectures, misconceptions, inconsistencies, undue desperation and misconstruction of the law.
He argued that the Orders granted by the Federal High Court, Abuja on 26th September 2023 are still in force and they remain valid and subsisting, contrary to the erroneous conclusion of the Assembly that the said Orders have expired by operation of law.
Dwelling on Order 26 Rule 10 (2) and (3) of the Federal High Court Rules 2019, the Deputy Governor argued that the Court in Abuja has been given a wide discretion to determine the nature, status and duration of any order granted and in this case, the Court directed that the Orders granted on 26th September 2023 should last till the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction, which is still pending before the Court.
The Deputy Governor stated in his letter that based on the two proceedings of the Federal High Court, Abuja of 9th and 16th October 2023, the Court has not set aside the pending orders and the order cannot be extinguished by the application to set it aside since it was combined with the hearing of the substantive suit.
Aiyedatiwa drew the attention of the Chief Judge to the inconsistent action of the Assembly which on one hand is claiming that the Orders have expired whilst on the other hand it is pursuing an appeal against the said Orders.
The Deputy Governor referred the Chief Judge to the Motion on Notice filed by the Assembly at the Court of Appeal, Abuja on 20th October, 2023 where it stated that the Orders granted by the Federal High Court are still valid and subsisting because they are tied to the hearing and determination of the Deputy Governor’s motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
He then queried whether the Assembly can approbate and reprobate at the same time by stating under oath in Court that the Orders are still valid and pending while at the same time writing a letter to the Chief Judge claiming that the Orders have expired.
The Deputy Governor quoted extensively from the motion filed by the Assembly at the Court of Appeal, Abuja to show the malicious intent of the Assembly.
“Contrary to this misconception of law and the facts, the same House of Assembly filed a Motion on Notice dated 20th October 2023, before the Court of Appeal, Abuja in respect of the same orders of the Federal High Court, praying for abridgement of time to hear its appeal against the said orders. If it is true that the orders expired by operation of law on 18thOctober 2023 as being falsely canvassed, why would the same House of Assembly file a fresh application two days later, in pursuit of its desire to set aside the said orders that it claimed have expired? While the Assembly is pursuing its appeal to set aside the orders in Court, it is deviously asking My Lord to set aside the same orders in Chambers, purportedly by operation of law”.
