The list of National Assembly candidates recently released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stirred another round of controversy between the two factions of the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with questions about the neutrality of the electoral umpire. Head Politics, MUMINI ABDULKAREEM writes on the issue.
For the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), this is not the best of times. And for a party that prides itself as the only credible opposition party in the state, the present political situation is one that is politically troubling to say the least coming less than four weeks to the general elections.
The crisis started when the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the party pronounced the dissolution of the Hon Ishola Balogun-Fulani Kwara executives after the defection of Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to the former Comrade Governor of Edo State, Balogun-Fulani and other members of the party are no longer the recognised executive and went ahead to constitute the Bashiru Omolaja Bolarinwa (BOB) faction for Kwara State.
The Balogun-Fulani (BF) led faction subsequently dragged the leadership of the party to court insisting the national chairman lacked the right to take such action against it the way it did. It added that its action (to approach the court) was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s position that aggrieved members of the party should approach the court to seek redress for any perceived wrong committed against it.
After all the legal fireworks by the opposing parties led by Yusuf Olaolu Ali (SAN) and Salman Jawondo for BF and BOB factions respectively, the High Court in Kwara State under Justice Taoheed S. Umar delivered its much anticipated judgment that has since been subjected to various interpretations.
Justice Umar held that the purported dissolution of the executive committee of the APC led by Balogun-Fulani was illegal, null and void.
According to the court, “there is no lacuna in the party since the executive was duly elected on May 5, and sworn in by national officers of the party on June 4′. The judge subsequently ordered INEC to recognise all candidates presented by the Balogun-Fulani faction to contest the 2019 elections and declared as null, void and unconstitutional all actions taken by the BOB faction since June. The court granted a perpetual injunction against the BOB executive from carrying out any function as chairman of the party in Kwara.
However, since the judgment, which has reportedly been appealed, apologists and supporters of the BOB faction have criticised it accusing the court of assuming the role of a Father Christmas by granting some of the prayers that were not ordinarily adjudicated by the BF led faction before it by directing the national leadership of the APC to recognise and work with members of the BF led executive.
But counsel to the BF faction has since amended its case before the court to include the prayers that is being criticised by the BOB faction according to a copy of the judgment which was sighted by this writer. Why the BOB supporters has gone ahead to make this issue of “Father Christmas” one of the cardinal aspects of its criticism against the judgment leave much to be questioned.
Before the judgment of the court, some of the members of the BF faction had argued that the national leadership erred with its decision adding that the APC ought to have began the process of the purported decision to expel the faction first from the ward and to the state and national levels which would be followed by the setting up of a panel to look into accusations levelled against it before the clause of suspension or to expel the faction outrightly could be activated. None of the above reportedly happened in this case.
Following the judgment, INEC director of Publicity and Voters Education, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi told National Pilot in a telephone chat from the commission’s headquarters in Abuja that INEC will obey the court judgment on the matter.
According to him, ‘although I don’t have details about that (which faction is fake or authentic in Kwara) but all I know is that If there is a court judgment, we’ll obey it until … (set aside by a higher court). But I don’t know if the commission has been served yet, I have to find out from my legal department to be clear on that. But will we obey the judgment of the court’, he emphasised.
INEC, however, ‘confused’ the situation in the state when it released the names of the eligible candidates for National Assembly elections recognising the candidates of the BOB faction with ‘court order’ published behind their names on the list. The action of the commission has been condemned by the BF led faction accusing INEC of bias and allegedly conniving with the national leadership of the APC to undermine court decision. Some political watchers who disagreed with INEC on the issue questioned the rational of publishing the names of the BOB faction with the ‘court order’ when the last judgment of the court on the matter favoured the Balogun-Fulani faction and up till the time of the publication, there is no evidence that INEC obtained any other court injunction setting aside that of Justice Taoheed S. Umar of the Ilorin High Court on the matter.
In response to the action of INEC, the Balogun-Fulani led faction rejected the position and action of INEC in entirety regarding the issue and called on the body to do the needful by recognising the judgment of the court.
Addressing a crowded press conference at the party’s secretariat in Ilorin on Friday, the chairman of the party, Hon Ishola Balogun-Fulani decried and condemned the decision of INEC to list the candidates of the factional APC led by BOB.
He said his party viewed INEC’s action as tantamount to disobeying the court judgment affirming him as authentic state chairman of APC.
He added: “Furthermore, the release of the candidates lists of 17th January, 2019 indicates that Bolarinwa’s faction’s candidates were listed; even though with’ court ordered’ indicated against their names.
“The whole world is to be made aware that there has not been any court sitting in Ilorin where any order of court has been made to counter the judgment of Kwara state High Court of 19th December, 2018 in favour of Balogun-Fulani led executive which makes the dropping of candidates produced by Balogun-Fulani led executive most condemnable, highly suspicious and a product of pre-arrangement between INEC and Bolarinwa led faction.
“Kwara APC viewed this action as tantamount to disobeying court judgment. It is on record that court judgment on Rivers APC crisis was fully obeyed by INEC but the same INEC fragrantly disobeyed the court judgment in the case of Kwara state APC.”
He warned that the action of INEC is capable of generating unnecessary anxiety, tension, provocation and breakdown of law and order adding that “It is in the public knowledge that INEC chairman categorically, in electronic media affirmed the readiness of INEC to obey all court judgements and orders including the judgement of Kwara state High Court delivered on 19th December 2018.
He stressed that the present attitude of INEC chairman and the entire INEC in turning around to deal with Bolarinwa executive and accept candidates present by them amounts to summersault and open display of bias and flagrant disobedience of lawful order of court. The APC chairman added that, “this act of double standard on the part of INEC, despite the promises and public pronouncement made by INEC national chairman to obey all court judgments is unacceptable’ and ‘Kwara state APC hereby enjoins INEC to do the needful so as to avoid seeking further legal redress…
For now, INEC is yet to reply to the concern raised by the Balogun-Fulani led faction or take any action to affirm the decision of the Ilorin High Court. For the commission to prove its neutrality in this matter, there are many posers it must answer like how it came about the ‘court order’ it published alongside the names of the BOB faction and why is it adopting different approaches with regards to the court cases in Ogun, Rivers and Kwara with many similarities. The days ahead in Kwara no doubt promises to be very interesting for interested parties, electorate and political observers.
