he Ogun State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has initiated contempt proceedings against the leaders of the ‘NewPDP' over a former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola's continued claim to the office of the party's National Secretary.

The contempt proceedings was commenced by the chairman of the chapter, Adebayo Dayo, and the secretary, Semiu Sodipo, before an Abuja Federal High Court.

The plaintiffs asked the court to commit Oyinlola, who is the National Secretary of the New PDP, to prison for one year, alongside the chairman of the faction, Abubakar Baraje, and a former National Working Committee member, Sam Jaja.

They said Oyinlola and the others have flouted a subsisting judgment of the court, which sacked him as the party's National Secretary.

According to the plaintiffs, Oyinlola's “continued claim to being the National Secretary of the PDP (including the purported New PDP) and his authorship of letters and notices in that capacity, amounted to deliberate violations of the court's orders in its judgments of April 27, 2012 and January 11, 2013.”

They explained that Baraje and Jaja were joined in the contempt proceedings for conspiring with, and aiding Oyinlola, to flout the court's orders.

The plaintiffs claimed that the alleged contemnors are trying to frustrate the outcome of Oyinlola's appeal against the judgments of the court.

They therefore asked the court to commit Oyinlola, Baraje and Jaja to prison for one year or any period the court prefers as punishment for their alleged action.

In the same vein, the Abuja FHC, presided over by Justice Abdul Kafarati, will on Friday rule on an application in which the Ogun State chapter asked it to compel the PDP national executive and the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise Prof. Adewale Oladipo as its replacement for Oyinlola as the party's National Secretary.

In the application, the Ogun State PDP also asked the court to compel the PDP national executive and INEC to accept the outcome of the extra-ordinary South West zonal congress held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on March 13, 2013, where Oladipo was elected to replace Oyinlola.

PDP, Oyinlola and INEC were listed as defendants in the suit.

Lawyer to the Ogun State PDP, Ajibola Oluyede, had applied to the court to extend the time within which the South West chapter of the PDP can hold the congress, as ordered by the court.

Oluyede's request was informed by the fact that the South West zonal congress was held outside the 21-day period provided for in the January 11, 2013 judgment of the Abuja FHC.

The lawyer noted that, in line with Order 48 Rule 4 of the FHC's Civil Procedure Rules, the court has the power to extend the time within which the action is to be taken.