Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of the Lagos High Court, has ordered the
Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to pay N10.5
million professional fees to a legal practitioner, Mr Debo Adeleke.
The judgement also put to rest the arguments and controversies over if the PDP at the national headquarters is the same with the PDP at the state and local government levels
Justice Ipaye gave the order in a summary judgment delivered on Wednesday, and also ordered the state chapter of the national ruling party to pay a N50,000 cost in favour of the claimant.
The claimant, a popular Lagos based legal luminary had dragged both the national headquarters and Lagos State branch of the PDP to court over their failure to pay him his outstanding legal fees.
The judge also noted that only the national headquarters of the party had continued to be represented by Chukwuoma Nmesirionye since the case started.
Drawing the court’s attention to the development, the claimant’s counsel, Mr Benson Akeredolu, in an application dated October 6, said the Lagos State PDP had been served with all the processes but chose not to respond and urged the court to enter into a summary judgment against the state PDP.
In her ruling, the judge held that the second defendant (Lagos PDP) breached the provisions of Order 11 Rule 4 of the High Court of Lagos State Civil Procedure Rules.
It will be recalled that Adeleke had sued the PDP for failing to pay the balance of his legal fees after he had made two hundred and eighty representations for the party during the local government election tribunal, where he went as high as the appeal level.
PDP’s counsel had argued that the claimant was not instructed to take up the cases by the national leadership of the PDP.
According to him, Article 22 (2) of the PDP states that the party shall only have legal relationship with any person only through its national officers.
The judgement also put to rest the arguments and controversies over if the PDP at the national headquarters is the same with the PDP at the state and local government levels
Justice Ipaye gave the order in a summary judgment delivered on Wednesday, and also ordered the state chapter of the national ruling party to pay a N50,000 cost in favour of the claimant.
The claimant, a popular Lagos based legal luminary had dragged both the national headquarters and Lagos State branch of the PDP to court over their failure to pay him his outstanding legal fees.
The judge also noted that only the national headquarters of the party had continued to be represented by Chukwuoma Nmesirionye since the case started.
Drawing the court’s attention to the development, the claimant’s counsel, Mr Benson Akeredolu, in an application dated October 6, said the Lagos State PDP had been served with all the processes but chose not to respond and urged the court to enter into a summary judgment against the state PDP.
In her ruling, the judge held that the second defendant (Lagos PDP) breached the provisions of Order 11 Rule 4 of the High Court of Lagos State Civil Procedure Rules.
It will be recalled that Adeleke had sued the PDP for failing to pay the balance of his legal fees after he had made two hundred and eighty representations for the party during the local government election tribunal, where he went as high as the appeal level.
PDP’s counsel had argued that the claimant was not instructed to take up the cases by the national leadership of the PDP.
According to him, Article 22 (2) of the PDP states that the party shall only have legal relationship with any person only through its national officers.
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