PLATEAU CRISIS: OGBULAFOR ASKS IG TO IGNORE JUDGMENT

Ogbulafor.
Despite the court judgment, which declared as illegal the sacking of the Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party and the setting up of a caretaker committee, the National Chairman of the party, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, has asked the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo, to ensure that the committee operates unhindered.

In a letter to Onovo, Ogbulafor said that the decision of the party to set up a caretaker committee in Plateau State was borne out of the fact that the Prof Dakum Shown-led executive council was illegal as it was not properly elected.

The letter dated April 28 was made available to our correspondent in Jos on Monday the same day that the Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, ordered the sealing of the secretariat of the Abu King-Shulluwa-led caretaker committee

The letter reads in part, 'Re Plateau State PDP. Please refer to my telephone discussion with you today, April 28, 2010 in respect of the above subject.

'Find attached herewith a report from the Independent National Electoral Commission, showing and confirming that there was no congress in Plateau State PDP. Subsequently this confirms the PDP action to set up a caretaker and congress committee that will conduct legal and acceptable executive members for the party in the state.

'The judgment recently delivered by Plateau State High Court in respect thereof is now a subject matter before the Court of Appeal with a pending application for stay of execution.'

The letter, which was personally signed by Ogbulafor concluded, 'Kindly ensure that our party secretariat in Jos Plateau state is accessible to the caretaker committee.'

Plateau State Attorney General, Mr. Edward Pwajok, reacting development, dcsribed Ogbulafor's letter to IG as 'Utterly despicable'. He said that the issues raised by Ogbulafor's letter have been dealt with by the court, adding that lawyers to the national chairman canvassed the same argument of not conducting a congress in Plateau and INEC tendered documents to show that the commission monitored the congress in Plateau.

The state Acting Police Commissioner, Ikechukwu Aduba, however told our correspondent in a telephone interview that he had not received a counter order from the IG as the directive to ask the committee to vacate office was from the IG and it was based on the court order.