Oni vs Fayemi: Blackmailing GEJ, VP, CJN, others won't work, PDP tells ACN

By Lere Olayinka

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West has described as cheap blackmail, claim by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) government in Ekiti State that PDP National Vice-Chairman (South-West), Chief Segun Oni boasted that the Vice President, Architect Namadi Sambo had reached out to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar and that he (Oni) had been assured of victory in the case he filed at the Supreme Court, challenging the composition of the Appeal Court Panel that sacked him from office on October 15, 2010.

The PDP said blackmail and arm-twisting tactics being employed by the ACN will fail, adding that; "Oni is not known to engage in underhand deals in pursuing his course, and on the case before the Supreme Court, what the ACN should do is to file its defence instead of engaging in blackmail that cannot work."

Using a faceless group, Conference of Ekiti Youths, the ACN had claimed in a letter addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan, which was published in some newspapers on Friday that Oni met with 177 former Ward Development Officers (WDO) and directed them to mobilise 50 persons per ward that would move to Ado-Ekiti to celebrated his victory at the Supreme Court, which he had been assured of.

In its reaction, the South-West PDP, said in a statement issued today by its Zonal Publicity Secretary, Hon Kayode Babade that there was no iota of truth in the publication, adding that; "should the house of fraud built for the ACN in Ekiti State by Justice Isa Ayo Salami and his cohorts crumble today, the entire people of the State, including members of the ACN, who are praying ceaselessly for the end of Fayemi's tyrannical and clueless government do not need anyone to mobilise them before trooping out to the streets to celebrate."

The statement reads; "Ordinarily, we would have ignored the said publication because the group, which purportedly authored it does not exist. Even the e-mail address ([email protected]), which the group presented as its, does not exist. All the messages sent to the e-mail address on Friday were returned undelivered.

"However, we are aware that the publication was part of the sinister plan of the ACN government in Ekiti State to once again blackmail and arm-twist the judiciary on the pending case at the Supreme Court, challenging the composition of the Appeal Panel that delivered the October 15, 2010 judgment that installed Dr. Kayode Fayemi as the governor of Ekiti State.

"Also, we know it as a fact that the publication originated from the office of Mr. Yemi Adaramodu, Chief of Staff to the judiciary imposed governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

"In actual fact, more of such falsehoods should still be expected from them because falsehood itself is the only mainstay of the ACN party.

"Nevertheless, we must alert the public that ACN and its functionaries are noted for having fore-knowledge of court judgments and it is not impossible that they are already trying to work their ways round the justices of the Supreme Court as they did on the controversial October 15, 2010 Appeal Court judgment that brought them to power in Ekiti State.

"Therefore, Nigerians, especially President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, the CJN and others that the ACN propagandists will still blackmail in their attempt to once again pervert the course of justice should be mindful of these political cankerworms in the ACN, and continue to ignore them."