LAGOS JULY 16TH (URHOBOTODAY)-The Delta State faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Monday mocked a leader of the party in the state, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor following failed court cases he filed against the party through an executive faction led by Cyril Ogodo.
The party in statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, O.S. Imonina said Emerhor boxed himself into a corner and was making attempts to withdraw an appeal he filed at the Supreme Court as a face-saving mechanism.
“We wish to inform the general public that consequent upon the proceedings at the Supreme Court on the 11th July, 2019, it is quite obvious that Olorogun O’tega Emerhor is now stuck in a bind,” the party said.
Explaining the reason behind the purported move to withdraw the matter, Imonina said: “Emerhor already knows that he and his group have lost the case when the Supreme Court rejected all efforts by their lawyers to move his application to bring back the October 14th adjourned date in respect of the Appeal to July.
The lawyer of Chief Cyril Ogodo, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, had earlier informed the Court on the 27th June, that the matter was not a pre-election matter when asked by Justice Mary Odili if the Appeal before the Court way any way time bound.
“But in a twist of event, the same lawyer applied to the court requesting that the initial adjourned date be brought back within this month, arguing that the matter was a pre-election matter, which is time bound.
“The Presiding Justice, Justice Olabode Rhodes Vivour asked Chief Cyril Ogodo’s lawyer O.J Oghenejakpor if he was not in court on the last adjourned date when Chris Uche, SAN, informed the court that the matter was not a pre- election matter and therefore not time bound which necessitated the matter being adjourned to 14th October, 2019 to take the normal cause of a civil action.
“In an attempt to wriggle himself out of the seemingly embarrassment and backlash from the Presiding Justices of the Supreme Court, Ogodo’s lawyer opined that the learned SAN who led him on the last adjourned date made an error and that was what the application was seeking to correct.
“Justice Kekere-Ekun thereafter took him up and said that he could go and correct whatever error they made in their Chambers and not in Court. All the Justices, including Justice Mary Odili strongly told the lawyer he could not in the middle of a football match change the goal post.”
Imonina said the development caused panic among Emerhor followers, who reasoned that the appeal would elapse by effluxion of time since pre-election matter has a life span of 60 days.
He said Emerhor was desperately trying to find a way to secure a soft landing and had first requested dialogue with the Deputy President of the Senate for negotiation.
The party scribe said having failed to meet with the Senate Deputy President, Emerhor claimed he was under pressure to withdraw the failed matter.
Imonina said: “You will recall that Emerhor has done everything he could to stop Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s reelection ensuring he lost his unit and ward during the national elections in February.
“He had also tried to hijack the mandate that was freely given to Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege by the people of Delta central, when he instituted a matter at the federal high court, Warri claiming to be the senator-elect on the basis of Asaba High Court judgement that was later upturn by the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin.
“Not deterred, Emerhor appealed the judgement to the Supreme Court in further attempt to stop Omo-Agege at all cost.
“It is on record that he even worked against Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege’s emergence as Deputy Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by sponsoring protests and articles against Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege and in support of his rivals in the race for Deputy Senate President to no avail.”

The Nation