NNPP Headquarters Asks Tribunal To Ignore Ogun NNPP Withdrawal Of Petition Against March 18 Polls
The Ogun State Polls Petiton Tribunal appears to be in a fix over the dispute in the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) over its petition against the conduct of the March 18 governorship and state house of assembly polls in the state.
On Sunday, the state chairman, Comrade Olaposi Oginni, announced that the state executive committee had notified the tribunal of its decision to withdraw all its petitions against the conduct of the poll.
Oginni addressing a news conference in Abeokuta, said although the party’s petition has bright prospect of succeeding, it would end up disrupting the political calendar of the state.
Hours after, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) asked the tribunal to ignore the notice of the state executive committee to withdraw the petition before it.
In the petition, the party is demanding the cancellation of the entire governorship and state house of assembly poll because the Independent National Electoral Commission failed to include its name and logo on the ballot papers used for the polls.
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The party’s National Legal Adviser, Robert Hon, in a letter to the tribunal dated April 27, said the party was ready to pursue the petitions to its logical conclusion.
According to him, the NWC had not authorized anybody or group of people, nor its external counsel, Peter Ogah, to withdraw the petition.
Power to withdraw petitions, according to the national legal adviser, was vested in him, subject to the approval of the National Working Committee.
The pull out of the party from the tribunal, is a follow-up to the ongoing dispute between its governorship candidate, Olufemi Oguntoyinbo and the state executive committee.
A few days ago, the governorship candidate applied to the tribunal to replace the lawyer engaged by the party to file its petition against the March 18 polls.
The request was immediately countered by Oginni led executive committee, which asked the tribunal to reject the request of the governorship candidate.
