A High Court in Kwara State will on Wednesday in Ilorin deliver a judgment on which of the two factions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is authentic. This development will no doubt have deep implication for the 2019 election. In this report, HEAD POLITICS, MUMINI ABDULKAREEM chronicles the legal tussle that has engulfed the party so far.
What will happen to the factions of the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the High Court in Ilorin is set to make pronouncement on the lingering crisis rocking the two factions of the party in the state, on Wednesday. Is it going to be a replication of what happened in Zamfara where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) threw out the party from the race over its governorship crisis in another dimension? Better still, will the Basheer Bolarinwa led faction heave a great sigh of relief at last or will the faction have its case and prayers come crumbling like a pack of cards by the court and made to finally work with the Balogun Fulani-led faction or vice versa.
On the other hand, will the much anticipated judgment crystallise to bequeath a significant victory for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state and a double birthday celebration for its national leader and Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki who is set to celebrate his fifty-sixth birthday on the D-Day?
These and many more questions will agitate the minds of top politicians in Kwara on Wednesday and the electorate because of the potential implication of the much awaited judgement by the Kwara State High Court, on the political sphere in Kwara as the 2019 election approaches.
The case has generated much anxiety across all the political parties in the state especially after the Friday Federal High Court judgment in Abuja, which sacked the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate and former governor of Cross Rivers State, Donald Duke and the affirmation of his neighbour, Nyesome Wike as the substantive Governor of River State by the courts.
The legal tussle between the factions which has lasted months initially started like what is referred to a training session or practice match in the football parlance when a faction of the party led by BOB loyal to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed filed a suit against the Balogun-Fulani group being supported by the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki following the parallel congresses the APC held in Ilorin.
In the suit dated May 21, the prosecutors prayed a state high court for an order restraining the APC, its then national chairman, John Oyegun among other party executives from recognising or acting through Ishola Fulani as the new party chairman in the state.
The suit, filed by Bunmi Olusona and Toyin Ayinla in the affidavit filed in support of the motion, claimed both members emerged the secretary and chairman of Kwara APC, adding that it was after the congress held by the faction at the state secretariat “that we heard that a parallel congress was held at the Kwara State Banquet Hall, Ilorin”.
The claimants urged the court for an interlocutory injunction restrain Balogun Fulani and other elected executive members by the Saraki faction from “parading himself/themselves as the chairman and executive members of the state APC exco” pending the hearing and final determination of the case by the court.
While the initial roforofo was ongoing, the national leadership of the party wielded the big stick and sacked the faction led by Balogun-Fulani following protest from some members in the state loyal to the faction of the Minister and alleged anti-party activities. But the party had merely made the pronouncement when the affected faction rejected the dissolution by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
The party through it then spokesman, Sulyman Buhari, said there is no case of lacuna in the party leadership in Kwara “and there was no ground for the purported dissolution”. He said the NWC erred in law and the purported dissolution is null and void.
“We recall that for many weeks, party members worked assiduously and painstakingly to elect party leadership at the ward, local government and state levels in Kwara State. The party structure was certified as duly elected by the NWC of APC. The duly elected party structure in Kwara State cannot be overthrown or dissolved by an unlawful declaration from Abuja”. The faction said the new national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole has lost the respect of the party faithful in Kwara as a result of the dissolution. While the party will exercise legal means to protect the constitutional mandates of the party leadership at the ward, local government and state levels, we wish to reaffirm that the Alhaji Ishola Balogun Fulani – led state executive committee (SEC) remains the only authentic and lawful leadership of APC in Kwara state.”
However, all these were before the defection of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and some other key members of the APC to the PDP. Since then, the issue has become a straight fight between the PDP members that joined the APC and those that stayed behind.
As a result, the Balogun-Fulani-led faction dragged the Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee to court and the members of the NWC were subsequently restrained from dissolving the Kwara State executive committee of the party. The court granted the application after hearing the submission of counsel to Ishola Balogun-Fulani (chairman Kwara APC), Chief Christopher Tunji Ayeni, (secretary Kwara APC), Abdulwahab Bamidele, who are claimants/applicants in the suit number KWS/292/218 filed before the court of Justice Taoheed S. Umar.
The state High Court equally directed the APC national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole to henceforth work with the Alhaji Ishola Balogun Fulani – led State Executive Committee (SEC).
Reports pointed to a correspondence received by the National Chairman of APC, through the National Legal Adviser of the party, which directed to henceforth direct all correspondences, information, official assignments and responsibilities of the APC, Kwara State chapter through the party office at No 29, Agba Road, G.R.A Ilorin, Kwara State in obedience to the interim order granted by Honorable Justice Taoheed S. Umar.
In the correspondence, Oshiomole was further warned to be well guided and not doing acts capable of supporting, assisting and/or aiding any form of disrespect or disobedience to lawful order of court. The correspondence specifically indicated the possibility of commencement of contempt proceedings against Oshiomole if he fails to obey the court order.
It was gathered that among some of the prayers canvassed at the court by the BOB led faction through Barrister Jawondo was that the court should give more time to prove that the Balogun-Fulani led faction was working for Bukola Saraki and that their candidates for the 2019 election did not obtain their form from the national executive of the party which the court disagreed because of time lapse and contrary evidence before the court among others including not honouring the initial decision of the judge that Oshiomhole should henceforth work with the Balogun-Fulani led faction. The court also refused to grant the prayers not to hear the two cases instituted before it over the matter simultaneously.
But at the resumed hearing on Friday attended by lead lawyer of the PDP, Barrister Olaolu Ali (SAN) and Barrister Jawondo after the failure of the latter counsel to make the judge rescues himself from the case, Justice Taoheed S. Umar fixed Wednesday for judgment that will no doubt alter the political situation in the state between the ruling and opposition parties.
While this was ongoing, the BOB faction dragged the Ishola Balogun-Fulani group to another court before Justice Sulyman Akanbi, on Friday asking the court to declare him the authentic party chairman. He prayed the court to recognise the congress that produced him and his executive and nullify that of Balogun-Fulani. On his part, Balogun-Fulani, through his counsel, Bola Rasaq Gold had filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter. Gold in his argument prayed the court to dismiss the originating summon of BOB, saying what the faction filed before Justice Akanbi, is an abuse of court.
Gold posited that one Reverend Olusona had initially filed the matter before Justice Matthew Adewara, urging BOB to await court verdict over the issue before instituting any other matter. He noted that the two suits instituted in two different courts have the same grounds, adding that such development is an abuse of court process. The judge in his ruling adjourned the matter to February 12th, 2019 to enable all the parties involved in the matter file and serve their processes appropriately.
But wherever the pendulum of the judgment coming up on Wednesday will swing, both parties, right to appeal is guaranteed. The concern is whether the time that case will be heard at the appeal court will come up before the date of the gubernatorial election considering the impending end of year break of judicial officers and time to transmit all the records including the one that will be delivered on Wednesday to the appeal court.
Already, some loyalists of the BOB group have allegedly started flying things in the online media and many social media platforms purportedly to criminalise Justice Taoheed Umar as desperate to provide succour for some suspended members of Kwara APC.
According to the online post, the presiding Judge had earlier granted an amendment to the original prayers of Ishola Balogun Fulani without outlining what the new prayers were seeking to achieve, allegedly a flagrant disobedience to rules of the court.
“This ruling was challenged at the Court of Appeal by counsel to APC with notice of appeal and records of court brought before Justice Umar. Counsels to APC then filed stay of execution before Justice Umar and the Court of Appeal. (The Judge) in a jiffy threw the stay of execution away and ignored all pending suits before a higher court”.
“On Friday” the report continued, “he insisted APC counsels must enter into the substantive suit because he wants deliver a judgement by next week and equally ignored the protest by APC counsels who requested him to recuse himself from the matter because of his clear display of bias.
Has the BOB faction shot itself in the foot with such action or will the narrative aid their case which they have argued seriously about in court in this all important judgment? Justice Umar will provide the answers to this and many more on Wednesday.
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