For the newly declared winner of the Ilorin South Kwara state constituency polls, Mallam Abdulraheem Agboola, inauguration into the House may tarry a while until the determination of a substantive suit before a Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin the state capital.
It is recalled that Agboola recently won his case at the Appeal Court, thereby unseating Hassan Abdulazeez, the candidate earlier declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The implication of his victory is that he remains in the Kwara House of Assembly member, the only legislator among other 23 who is not from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Already, the state Governor, Abdul Rahaman AbdulRasak had since sent his congratulatory message to Agboola.
But undeterred by the decision of the last court allowed for the determination of election petition at that level, Abdulazeez had filed an action notifying the court of an alleged misrepresentation of the identity of the defendant in the case that eventually terminated his mandate.
According to Mr. Tayo Awodiji representing Oyun constituency, ‘’it was a candidate dropped for Abdulazeez by the party, All Progressives Congress (APC) that was taken to court. So Abdulazeez is in court now challenging the judgment against him as he was never a proper party that should have been sued in the first instance.’’
Also speaking with reporters in Ilorin on the same issue, chairman House committee on Information Culture and Tourism, Awolola Ayokunle, said that the House was served “a court summon joining the Speaker and the Clerk to the House, in a motion on notice with No. FHC/IL/CS/157/2019, filed in the Federal High Court of Nigeria, in the Ilorin judicial division, holden at Ilorin by Hon. Hassan Abdulazeez Elewu, restraining the House from swearing in of the PDP candidate pending the determination of the case.’’
The salient question at present is: why should a candidate with a court judgment and a Certificate of Return issued by INEC be deprived of his democratic right to be sworn in as representative of members of his constituency?Besides, would the Speaker of the House of Assembly not be slammed with contempt if he ignored the court order asking for a stay of execution of an issue pending the determination of the substantive suit?
Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, last Tuesday, stormed the state House of Assembly to protest alleged refusal of leadership of the House from allowing winner of the Ilorin South state constituency, Mallam Abdulraheem Agboola, to enter the Assembly.
Speaking with reporters at the Assembly complex, Agboola said that the House had denied him entry since he got certificate of return from the INEC, last Thursday.
“As we all know, Appeal Court is the last destination for the House of Assembly election petition process. It’s ruling has declared me winner. I started from the tribunal. I have my certificate of return from the INEC national headquarters, Abuja. The INEC in Kwara did the official presentation. According to the process, I have to come to the House in person to do documentation with the Clerk of the House in order to ratify, verify, genuineness of the certificate.
“This is our third time of coming here. Since last Thursday that the certificate was issued, then Friday and today, they did not attend to us. The Speaker, the Clerk and all of them have made themselves not to be available. We’ve been patient, telling our supporters not to be violent. This is the House we built. I served here between 1999 and 2003.
“We got here by 8:00 am today, but the security personnel said that the Speaker would address us when he comes. We said there’s no need for any address but entry into the House,” he said.Also speaking with journalists, chairman House committee on Information Culture and Tourism, Awolola Ayokunle, said that the House was served “a court summon joining the Speaker and the Clerk to the House, in a motion on notice with No. FHC/IL/CS/157/2019 filed in the Federal High Court of Nigeria, in the Ilorin judicial division, holden at Ilorin by Hon. Hassan Abdulazeez Elewu, restraining the House from swearing in of the PDP candidate pending determination of the case.
“As the first arm of government charged with the responsibility of lawmaking, the House cannot but abide by the law. However, the House is restrained from taking further steps in respect of the certificate of return issued to the PDP candidate for the Ilorin South constituency seat until the determination of the above said suit scheduled to be moved on December 16, 2019.”
He assured members of general public that the House was ready to abide by the rule of law at all times.Sources told The Guardian in Ilorin that aside the Court Injunction, the House felt that the PDP candidate, the only member of the opposition in the House, had allegedly mobilised perceived miscreants to cause commotion at the Assembly during his three attempts at presenting the court judgment and the Certificate of Returns to the Clerk of the House.
But Agboola had since denied that, describing the people as his loyalists who stood by him during his trying moment and not ‘’thugs or mob as being portrayed by some of the APC legislators.’’Speaking on the development, the Kwara State Chairman of the PDP, Engineer Koka Shittu queried the alleged denial of Agboola access into the House.
According to Shittu, ‘’ I don’t think any group of legislators have the legal backing to lock out any of their colleagues who is from another party. Again, what else do they want when Agboola had presented the court judgment and the Certificate of Return? We need to tolerate one another.
’This is democracy and I want to say that when we were the ruling party in the state, we did not shut out legislators from other parties. We need to respect the law of the land to keep our democracy moving on.’’An Ilorin based Constitutional lawyer, Abeny Mohammed SAN, said the issue of proper party remained germaine to the determination of issues in election petition just as he hopes the issue being raised by the APC candidate was not an after thought.Mohammed however urged the parties to respect the decisions of the court on the issues, adding that the matter being raised would at the end boost the repertoire of the nation’s judicial system.
But another lawyer in the state capital, Alawode, believed that the House ought to have first obeyed the decision of the Court of Appeal on the issue by admitting Agboola before pursuing the latest contest on who the proper party was.Another twist to the development is the trending rumour of Agboola, allegedly forging the Certificate of Return, just because the presentation by the INEC ‘was not done in public.’’
Already, the Head Public Affairs and Voters Education of the INEC in Kwara state, Barrister Jacob Ayanda has cleared the air on this.Ayanda said, ‘’INEC does not issue fake certificate. Correct certificate has been presented as directed by the court. Short and simple, note that the Commission has carried out her constitutional role.’’Again, the final arbiter on the issue would be the judiciary arm. Kwarans and indeed Nigerians are therefore awaiting judicial fire-power that may lay another Judicial Precedence in the anal of election petition advocacy in Nigeria.
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