Oyinlola can’t return as PDP Secretary — Kashamu

Mr. Buruji Kashamu is the financier of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State and a force behind the Adebayo Dayo-led State Executive of the party. In this interview with SEGUN OLATUNJI, the businessman reacts to the Friday sacking of the party’s National Secretary, Mr. Olagunsoye Oyinlola, from office by a Federal High Court in Abuja
How will you describe the Friday judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, removing the PDP National Secretary, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, from office?

How else do you want us to describe it, when you know that this judgment has only confirmed the earlier judgments obtained from different courts regarding the nullification of the South-West PDP Congress? It’s based on the different judgments that not only nullified the South-West congress but also reaffirmed the Adebayo Dayo-led Exco of Ogun PDP. These people, because they believe in illegality and imposition, had continued to do whatever they wanted without regard for the rule of law.

The Adebayo exco instituted another case against Oyinlola as you are well aware that the South-West Congress had been nullified and, automatically, there was no way Oyinlola could have remained in office. So, at the end of the day, this judgment only confirmed what has transpired in the past. And what this means is that after God, the law comes next. The lesson of this judgment is that we must adhere strictly to the rule of law and I’m sure everybody has learnt his lesson. If they don’t want to implement this latest judgment, they would continue to push themselves further into problems and it’s only God that knows what can happen at the end of the day.

There have been previous court judgments removing South-West officers like Bode Mustapha and Segun Oni but the judgments have not been implemented by the national leadership of the PDP. How do you see this?

If they had respected and executed the earlier judgments, there would have been no room for the Friday judgment. But because they have not been following the rule of law, they believe that they are big; they could do and undo and cause another problem. Friday’s judgment is the result of all the arbitrary things that they have been doing. Let’s wait and see if they will not respect this latest one too.

I believe that there is a portion in this judgment which compels them to respect it. If they like, they can appeal but they must respect the judgment first. Oyinlola cannot come back to the office as the PDP national secretary. If he tries to do that, the Adebayo Dayo-led exco will institute another legal procedure for contempt of court, which will be a criminal conduct. They can hold the legal department; they can hold (the PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur himself; and then, we’ll find ourselves in court and we’ll continue. And apart from that, they must respect this judgment and the previous ones; they must accept that there is no longer any faction in Ogun State PDP. If they fail to do that, then we’ll continue the legal process.

This judgment has also instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission to delete Oyinlola’s name from their records. So, any action taken by Oyinlola from now on is a nullity. He is on his own and the party national headquarters has to know that if they allow Oyinlola to continue to occupy that office after this judgment, if they allow him to participate in any meeting, either the National Working Committee or the National Executive Council, whatever decision they take in such meetings will be a nullity and I’m sure they cannot afford this.

But you know that Oyinlola still has the right to appeal against the judgment removing him from office…

Of course, everybody has the right to appeal. He can appeal but that does not mean that the judgment would not be implemented. If he has not got a stay of execution, the judgment will continue to run. So for now, he can only stay away because they have already said he cannot remain in office and that he should vacate the office. So, he can only go back to that office if he succeeds in getting a stay of execution order. There is a declaration in the judgment, because we have the enrolment order and that is even if he appeals, the judgment must be respected first and he can’t do otherwise. He has to respect that first and if he doesn’t, he would find himself in jail.

There are allegations that you have some personal scores to settle with Oyinlola. How true is this?

No. Oyinlola is my brother. Let me tell you, I personally went to Oyinlola’s office in company with two other persons about a month ago to advise him that, being a lawyer, he should endeavour to respect the rule of law. That if he as a lawyer could not respect the rule of law, who else would do that? I was in his office and we discussed for almost two hours. I begged him. As our leader in the South-West, I like him and respect him a lot; we are more or less members of the same family.

I told him not to support Baba Obasanjo (former president Olusegun Obasanjo). Obasanjo is our father; he’s an old man. I told him (Oyinlola) to start to do what Obasanjo cannot do now. He should pull the party together and resolve the problems. I told him he should not be biased because he was the only leader we had representing the South-West at the national leadership of the party. But he refused to accept that and chose to continue to perpetrate illegality. And at the end of the day, he has reaped the fruit of those who perpetrate illegality.

What is the implication of the Friday judgment for the Ogun State PDP, which has for long been in crisis?

This judgment has only reaffirmed the authenticity of the Adebayo Dayo-led exco of the state PDP. The implication is that anywhere they go in the next 20 years, the Dayo-led exco will still be confirmed as the authentic exco of Ogun PDP. And even with the latest judgment, they can never get contrary court decision. The courts have continued to confirm Dayo as the only authentic PDP exco in the state, and that any other exco or persons claiming to run anything as such, is illegal and counterfeit. This latest ruling has given them 21 days to conduct a fresh congress in the South-West and whether they like it or not, they have to follow the rule of law. It’s not Obasanjo that was talking; it was the rule of law that has prevailed.

Do you see the judgment as signalling an end to the perennial crisis in Ogun PDP?

Exactly! There was no crisis in Ogun PDP and if some people believed there were factions in Ogun PDP, with Friday’s judgment, all that has ended. The national headquarters have to know what they are doing now because they cannot do otherwise. And if they do, the entire world would see them as a lawless organisation because this was the secretary of the largest party in Africa being removed from office by the court. And if they say they want to disobey the rule of law regarding the judgment, then it means they don’t know what they are doing. It would be shameful. I believe that Tukur would never do that because I believe he’s an intelligent elderly person who respects the rule of law. And I also believe that the deputy national chairman, who is a PhD holder and the legal adviser, would advise the party leadership accordingly.

How best do you think the crisis in Ogun PDP can be resolved?

The Friday judgment has resolved the crisis in Ogun PDP. The entire world is watching what has happened. If Oyinlola could be removed for lack of respect for the rule of law, do you think any faction in Ogun State would still have the audacity to oppose the Dayo-led state exco? The police and the State Security Service would have to set to work to arrest such people. The Ogun PDP crisis is over and the Dayo-led exco is free to operate now and mobilise people to ensure the growth of the party. The party in the state would henceforth grow rapidly.

Also, I think Oyinlola should learn how to be loyal and he has to learn. Don’t forget he has been writing letters against the judgments obtained by the Dayo-led exco. He’s a lawyer but he kept on writing letters to counter the court judgments given by courts, asking the police to arrest them and seize their secretariat. Oyinlola has been the mastermind of whatever problems we have been having in Ogun PDP and now that the court has moved against him, he should understand better because he’s a lawyer.

How does the Dayo-led exco plan to regain the party secretariat in Abeokuta from the police who have since occupied the building?

The Dayo-led exco has instructed a lawyer in Abeokuta to take the matter up with the police and if the police fail to leave the secretariat, the lawyer would obtain an order of mandamus to compel the Ogun State police commissioner to obey the law.