Court Summons Ekiti Speaker Over Disobedience Of Order

A Federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has or­dered that the Speaker of Ekiti State House of As­sembly, Kola Oluwawole, must appear before it on December 7 for his dis­obedience of the order to swear in legislator-elect, Toyin Obayemi.

 

 

The Presiding Judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo ruled that the Speaker must comply with his order to inaugurate Obayemi as member representing Ado-Ekiti Constituency 1 which was delivered on July 4.

 

Obayemi is pressing a contempt charge against Oluwawole for disobey­ing the court order that he (Obayemi) be sworn in immediately as the legislator to replace Musa Arogundade who was re­moved by the Court and ordered to refund all sala­ries and allowances col­lected since June 5 when the Fifth Assembly was inaugurated.

 

The court had nullified Arogundade’s election and ordered the Indepen­dent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue Obayemi a Cer­tificate of Return hold­ing that the latter was not validly nominated by the Peoples Democratic Par­ty (PDP) for the April 11, 2015 House of Assembly election.

 

The court also held that Arogundade was never qualified to stand as a candidate at the poll on grounds that he fraudu­lently obtained an Abuja Federal High Court order to validate his candidacy.

 

The judge said that court record showed the speaker has been served Form 49, a notice of why he (Oluwawole) should not be committed to prison for disobeying the order of the court.