Date: 2019-12-23

The story of the only Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Abdulraheem Agboola, started when the election tribunal ordered fresh election in Ilorin South constituency.

This was followed by the Court of Appeal judgement in Ilorin on October, where he was declared as the fully elected candidate. The judgement, delivered by Justice Hamman Barkar Hkawu, sacked the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Abdulazeez Oluwanilo and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue the PDP candidate a Certificate of Return.

The court based its decision on the disputed primary election of the APC, which produced Alhaji Suleiman Abdulsalam, popularly known as Sule Cement, but was later replaced with a 28-year-old Abdulazeez Hassan Elewu.

The Appeal Court held that the APC had no valid candidate for the 2019 House of Assembly election and thereby declared the candidate with the second highest votes winner – the PDP candidate. Agboola had challenged the eligibility of the APC candidate and his party nomination process at the tribunal. With a Certificate of Return, Agboola approached the House of Assembly for documentation and swearing in.

But a mild drama ensued at the Assembly as he was prevented from entering the complex alongside his supporters and other PDP members with him. This led to a protest at the gate of the House of Assembly. Speaking with journalists during the protest, Agboola said, "As we all know, Appeal Court is the last destination for the House of Assembly election petition process. Its 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 and verify the genuineness of the certificate. "This is our third time of coming here and they did not attend to us. The speaker, clerk and all of them have made themselves not to be available. We have 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 the speaker would address us when he came. We said there was no need for any address," he said. Addressing journalists on the matter, the chairman, House Committee on Information, Culture and Tourism, Awolola Ayokunle, claimed that the House was served a court summon through a motion on notice with suit number FHC/IL/CS/157/2019, filed in the Federal High Court, Ilorin division.

"As the 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."

The sacked member of the APC, Abdulazeez Elewu had approached the Federal High Court, Ilorin for determination of the legality of the ruling of the Court of Appeal, which ordered the INEC to withdraw his Certificate of Return and issue a new one to the second runner-up in the March 9, 2019 state assembly election. In an originating summon, with suit number FHC/IL/CS/157/2019, Elewu joined the PDP candidate, the INEC, the Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, and the clerk of the Assembly, Hajiya Halima Jumai Kperogi, as defendants. He argued that he was the lawful candidate of the APC for Ilorin South constituency. He claimed he partook in the election process from the party primary stage to the main election and won. Consequently, he was sworn in on June 11, 2019 as a legislator in the 9th Kwara Assembly. Elewu further argued that he was not part of the case that led to the judgement which ordered the INEC to issue a Certificate of Return to the PDP candidate. According to him, the case was between Jimoh Raheem Agboola and Sulaiman Sheu Abdulsalam and two others. He equally claimed that in the absence of an order from a competent court of jurisdiction setting aside the subsisting order and judgement of the Federal High Court, Ilorin division of February 27, 2019 in suit number FHC/IL/CS/8/2019, the INEC cannot issue a Certificate of Return to the PDP candidate in respect of the same election for Ilorin South constituency. He, therefore, said the judgement of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin division, delivered on November 12, 2019, in appeal number CA/IL/EPT/SH/2/2019, emanating from petition number KW/ST/EPT/HA/1/2019, to which he was not a party, could not affect the mandate given to him by the people of Ilorin South. He further prayed the Federal High Court to restrain the INEC from issuing a Certificate of Return to the PDP candidate, and if anyone had been issued, consequent upon the Appeal Court judgement, it should be declared unlawful.

Following the alleged refusal of the Kwara State House of Assembly to swear in Agboola, the PDP in the state sought the intervention of the Nigerian Governors Forum, saying there's the need to uphold law and order in the state. Addressing a press conference in Ilorin, the state chairman of the PDP, Kola Shittu, an engineer, described the action of the House of Assembly as abuse of power and disregard for rule of law.

"We call on the INEC, security agencies, local and international non-governmental organisations to ask the governor of Kwara State and the House of Assembly to quickly swear in our candidate and allow democracy and justice to thrive. A word, they say, is enough for the wise,"he said. Shittu faulted the claim of the chairman, House Committee on Information, Culture and Tourism, that the House was served a court summon in respect of the matter. He said the reason given by the House for not swearing in the PDP candidate was laughable, adding that the Court of Appeal is the last court for all litigations arising from national and state assembly elections.

"The judgement of the Appeal Court declaring Agboola as winner of the Ilorin South constituency election cannot be appealed, nor can there be any stay of execution of the court judgement," he said. He said the action of the leadership of the House should be condemned by all, irrespective of political affiliation, adding that it is a subversion of democracy. The PDP candidate has continued to go to the Assembly in a bid to be sworn in, but he is yet to be allowed into the complex.