Unending PMAN crisis as Pretty Okafor declares:‘I’m still the president’

THE last is yet to be heard of the age-long crisis rocking the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria, PMAN, as the recent ruling by Justice C.M.A Olatoregun-Ishola of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which set aside the Consent Judgment establishing the National Executive Caretaker Committee of the union may have hit the brick wall.

According to a statement signed by PMAN’s General Secretary, Kenny Ama George, the development follows the Notice of Appeal and Motion on Notice filed by their counsel, Ogbeide Kingsley Ukumhen, which picked holes with the ruling. 

The counsel stated that the trial judge erred in law by setting aside a Consent Judgment that was entered by the court based on terms of settlement that was neither an issue before the court nor contested by any parties to the suit. 

He also observed that from available records, it is obvious and undisputed that parties to the suit entered, executed and filed several terms of settlement based on which the court gave its seal upon. ‘’Further to the above, the law is trite that the terms of settlement properly executed and duly filed by parties to a suit doesn’t become consent judgment of court unless and until pronouncement is made to that effect by the court binding parties thereto accordingly.” 

For the avoidance of doubt, he said that it must be noted that Hon Justice O. E. Abang of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on the 31st day of October, 2014, pronounced the terms of settlement dated and filed on the 13th day of October 2014, a Consent Judgment in the aforementioned suit. 

 

He then argued that the ruling of 14th April 2016, subject of this appeal, showed that Hon Justice C.M.A Olatoregun-Ishola while relying only on the relief sought by the respondents in their motion on notice dated 17th of November, 2014 but filed on the 18th of November 2014 seeking to set aside a consent judgment delivered on 31st day of October, 2014 which said judgment was not predicated on the terms of settlement dated 23rd day of April 2014 as contained in the said ruling of 14th April 2016.

 “Justice Olatoregun-Ishola should be told in unmistakeable terms that from available records of court, that there is no consent judgment delivered on the 31st day of October 2014 based on a terms of settlement dated 23rd day of April 2016 as erroneously contained in her ruling of 14th April 2016,” he deposed. 

Noting that it is apparent that the ruling in itself is a nullity from an exercise in futility, the learned counsel observed that the consent judgment by Hon Justice Abang on October 31, 2014 is still valid, subsisting and binding on all the parties accordingly.