Society Gists

An Ondo State High Court in Akure, on Monday, struck out a suit filed by the Ondo State Government and Governor Rotimi Akeredolu over the compilation of the record of appeal.

The claimants in the case had sued four registrars of the High Court, the Deputy Governor of the state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the House of Assembly, the Speaker of the House and the Chief Judge of Ondo State, claiming that the procedure of settlement and compilation of record of appeal for the hearing of the appeal filed by the deputy governor would infringe their rights.

At the hearing of the case on Monday, the claimants through their counsel, applied to withdraw the suit, claiming that events had overtaken the suit. However, counsel for the deputy governor, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), opposed the oral application to withdraw the suit, saying the issues had been joined by filing a defence to the suit and also a counter-claim.

In his ruling, Justice D.I. Kolawole, held that the rules of the court permitted the claimants to withdraw the suit and it was accordingly struck out.

Aiyedatiwa’s counsel urged the court to direct parties to maintain the status quo in order to preserve the subject matter of the suit pending before the court.

The application was, however, opposed by counsel representing the House of Assembly, Mr Femi Emodamori Ruling on the application, the court directed all the parties to continue to maintain the peace and thereafter adjourned the case till November 22, 2023, for hearing of applications.

The Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Mr Olamide Oladiji, had recently said failure of the state deputy governor,  Ayedatiwa, to withdraw cases in court showed he was not ready for genuine reconciliation.

Oladiji said Aiyedatiwa needed to withdraw the cases in court before the reconciliation could take place.

He said, “We met the National Chairman (of the APC), and he specifically asked me how we would commence reconciliation. I told him that the reconciliation process had to start with the deputy governor. He was the one who took us to court, we cannot reconcile ourselves when we have cases in court.

“Let him go to the court, withdraw all these cases, then we would know that we are now in for genuine reconciliation. But the deputy governor has not done that as he has appealed some of the rulings of the lower court.”