The party’s governorship candidate commends the judgement as a victory for Kwara people

THE Court of Appeal, sitting in Ilorin, on Tuesday, February 12 upheld the nomination of Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State and other candidates in Saturday’s elections, thereby setting aside an earlier ruling by the state high court.

The appeal court also held that the state high court lacks the power to entertain any suit against the INEC in respect of a suit challenging the dissolution of the Ishola Balogun led state executive committee.

In a unanimous decision on the interlocutory appeals filed by the APC, Justice Hamma Akawu Barka, who read the ruling, said the originating summons by the Balogun-Fulani’s faction was not sealed by the registry and that robs the court of jurisdiction.

He upheld all the four grounds of appeal filed by the APC and set aside the ruling of the Kwara State High Court which was given on October 24, last year.

The court said the nomination of Abdulrazaq by the APC National Working Committee was in order.

It said a state executive committee of a party is just a branch of its national headquarters and so has no power or right to conduct any primaries to the offices of the president, governor, National Assembly or State Assembly positions.

The appeal court also slammed the Kwara High Court for entertaining a suit against the INEC on the matter since it has no jurisdiction on the matter.

The court upheld the four grounds of appeals and said the case of the Ishola Balogun-Fulani faction was defective in all ramifications because the originating summons was incurably detective.

By the ruling, the dissolution of the Ishola Balogun-led APC executive committee in Kwara State by Adams Oshiomhole-led national executive committee now stands.

In his reaction, AbdulRazaq said the judgement is a victory for the people of Kwara State. The APC candidate thanked the justices for standing for the truth.

“This judgment on our interlocutory appeal has cleared the final logjam the discredited dynasty, acting through their proxies, was using to stall our people’s steady move to political liberation and socioeconomic progress.

“On behalf of all the Kwara APC candidates in the coming elections, we thank the people of Kwara State for their solidarity while the legal distractions lasted. The ruling is a victory for the masses of Kwara who yearn for change, political freedom and a government that is truly committed to their welfare,” AbdulRazaq said.

– Feb. 12, 2019 @ 15:15 GMT |