Action Congress' Governorship candidate in the last election in Osun state, Mr Rauf Aregbesola has been advised to stop making wild claims in the media if indeed he has faith in the election tribunal hearing his petition.

 

A statement issued at the weekend by the Chief Press Secretary to the Osun State Governor, Mr Lasisi Olagunju counseled Aregbesola to allow the legal process to work instead of attempting a media trial of the case.

 

According to the statement, Aregbesola in the last 48 hours had been working on the media to move against the legal process which he himself ironically initiated.

 

The statement said it was not difficult to understand the mind set of Aregbesola and his party on the legal process especially in the light of a recent statement in the Tell Magazine by Aregbesola that he had another option if he failed at the tribunal.

 

Aregbesola was asked by the statement to seek his lawyers' advice before making uninformed media statements on the case before the tribunal especially as it concerned  lawyers and the police which he joined as respondents in his petition.

 

The statement wondered why simple interactions between a counsel and his clients should become the headache of Aregbesola who took them to court in the first instance.

 

“Aregbesola joined the police as respondents in his petition. The police objected but the tribunal ruled that it could be joined and asked it (the police) to file its reply to the petition by the AC candidate. The tribunal had earlier dismissed Aregbesola’s objection to the police being represented by the ministry of justice. Now that the police and its counsel are preparing their defence to his allegations, he is making noise and weeping in the media. Is he expecting respondents to his petition not to respond by filing their reply? If the man is ignorant of the normal relationship that exists between a counsel and his client, then he should go back to school,” the statement said.

 

The statement advised the AC to call itself and Aregbesola to order and should stop giving signals that  they had disdain for the rule of law.

 

 

Lasisi Olagunju

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor

28th July, 2007