Justices of the Federal Appeal Court, Ibadan have declared the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Rauf Aregbesola, winner of the 2007 governorship election in Osun State and ordered that he be sworn in as governor by 12 noon tomorrow.
We gathered that right after the judgment of the Appeal Court that nullified the election of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as the Governor of Osun State, he had to vacate the Government House yesterday.
As his vehicles and belongings were being moved out of the premises, tears rolled down the Okuku Prince’s face. Meanwhile as at when the former Governor’s team of lawyers entered the Appeal Court in Ibadan, they appeared confident of victory.
The team which comprised of Adebayo Olanipekun, N.O Oke (SAN) and Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN) beamed with smiles as they acknowledged greetings from people around. Also in tow was Niyi Owolade, who was until then the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Osun State. They chatted and joked before proceedings began.
Engineer Aregbesola’s team on the other hand was led by Deji Sasegbon (SAN). He sat all by himself on the front row meant for leading counsels. Save for Barrister Femi Lanlehin and a few others, the team comprised mainly of young lawyers. Before the arrival of the judges, Sasegbon simply sat by himself and kept a straight face.
As Justice Ogunbiyi read the judgment however, he had reasons to smile occasionally. While Sasegbon smiled, the Oyinlola team hardly found any part of the 5 hour judgment amusing. They wore long faces, exhibiting surprise once in a while. At a point, Owolade was observed removing lemon flavoured sweets from his pocket. Some felt he started taking the sweets to douse the tension.
After the court had struck out the cross-appeal, Otunba Kalejaiye started writing in his notebook. One would have thought the Senior Advocate was taking notes. A closer look however revealed that he was busy drawing abstract designs with his green pen. By the time he closed the book, he had designed almost half of the page he opened. At the end of the day, Sasegbon whose 6’6 height made him taller than any other lawyer in the court walked tall and held his head high. And outside the court premises, supporters of Prince Oyinlola came en masse.
At the last count, there were about ten “Oyinlola 2011” buses around the court while a number of buses also brought Senator Omisore’s supporters. They however got a feel of how things would go when word leaked from the court that four out of the five issues to be considered had been decided in favour of Engr. Aregbesola. The noise of Aregbesola’s supporters could be heard even from the main road. Even before judges rose, the number plates of most of the vehicles that conveyed officials of the Osun State Government to the court were changed by the drivers, apparently on instruction from their bosses. Most of Oyinlola’s supporters entered their buses quietly.
The few ones who made phone calls had almost the same tale to tell. They kept telling people at the other end that “won ti declare Aregbe” (Aregbe has been declared). Street Journal also gathered that there was wild jubilation in Osun State after the appeal court’s judgment. Sources also disclosed that some members of the PDP too joined in the celebration. In the meantime, we gathered that the
Governor of Oyo State and some PDP members were in a meeting with the President recently and the main item on the agenda was how to resolve the internal crisis rocking the party in the state. We gathered that the submission that a new exco would be constituted and that positions in the executive should be shared among the various camps so as to allow peace to reign did not go down well with the Governor. Sources disclosed to us that the Governor banged the table in annoyance right there in front of the President before he left. It was however gathered that the Senate Leader apologized on behalf of the Governor and the people of Oyo State as he was said to have told the President that not all Oyo State indigenes were like that and that the behaviour was unbecoming of someone who hails from Oyo State.
