How PDP Leaders Intervened In Litigation Against Mimiko, Ex-Ondo Gov Leadership Status

Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Ondo state have intervened in the litigation filed by a member of the party against the former governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko on his status as the leader of the party.

Recall that Bode Obanla, a chieftain of the party had dragged Mimiko with the state and national working committees of the party to court challenging the former governor of the state right to assume the position of the leader of the party in the state.

Obanla claimed that Dr. Mimiko could not assume the leadership status of the party despite the fact that he’s the only former governor in the party on grounds that he had neither contested nor won any elective position on the platform of the party.

But the leaders of the party in the state led by Dr. Omotayo Dairo have intervened, appealing to Obanla to withdraw the suit.

Dr. Mimiko, however, ought to have filed his response or sought extension from the court to allow him file his response on Monday but he never did.

When contacting Obanla on the issue on Tuesday, he said the elders and leaders of the party have been putting pressure on him to withdraw the matter.

Obanla said: “For sometimes now, elders and leaders of the party have been talking to me about the case, but I explained to them that it is a constitutional matter. So, the leaders of the party led by Dr. Dairo, in their wisdom, sat with me, we discussed it for hours, begging me to process the withdrawal of the case in court in the interest of the party.

“After we have agreed, we later sat down with the State Working Committee in order to discuss the whole issues and we agreed that I should begin the process of withdrawing the case in court. 

“What happened is that I’m only doing that to protect the interest of the party, I don’t have any grudge against the Former Governor, I’m just protecting the party and there must be a reward for the loyalty of members of the party. 

“I pointed it out in the case that, a declaration that Mimiko is not entitled to be accorded the seniority and privileges attendant to his status as a former governor in his membership of Ward Executive Committee, Local Government Executive Committee, State Executive Committee and the National Caucus in that he was not a governor produced by the PDP not having won any governorship election under the party.

“So, he is not a governor of PDP, in view of this, we must protect the party and the constitution and 80 percent members of the party agreed with me on the points I raised in the suit. I have gone far in pursuing this case and I was ready to proceed but the elders, leaders and members of the party have intervened and I see it that I have to withdraw the case in the interest of the party. There is no crisis in the party, we are one family and we must move forward.”