By Steve Oni, Ilorin
Kwara state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to intervene in the crisis rocking the state House of Assembly following the Assembly’s refusal to allow PDP’s Jimoh Agboola entry into the House despite Appeal Court’s ruling declaring him winner of the Ilorin South constituency’s election.
The PDP appealed to the NGF to compel Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to follow democratic norms and values in resolving the imbroglio.
It would be recalled that the leadership of the state House of Assembly had refused to allow winner of the Court of Appeal Court judgment and the PDP lawmaker, Abdulraheem Agboola, entry into the Assembly for documentation and swearing in since he got the judgment a few days ago.
The appellate court had declared Agboola of the PDP winner of the Ilorin South constituency’s House of Assembly election in the last general elections and was subsequently issued a Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Addressing journalists in Ilorin, the state capital, over the weekend, state Chairman of the PDP, Engr. Kola Shittu, described the Assembly refusal to swear in Agboola as an abuse of power and disregard for rule of law, calling on leader of the NGF, Governor Kayode Fayemi, to intervene.
“We also call on INEC, security agencies, local and international NGOs to ask Governor AbdulRazaq and the House of Assembly to urgently retract their undemocratic stand and steps, by quickly admitting and allowing democracy and justice to thrive in this instance. 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, Awolola Ayokunle, which said the House was served a court summon joining the Speaker and Clerk to the House, a motion on notice, filed in the Federal High Court by Hassan Abdulazeez, seeking to refrain the House from swearing in Agboola pending determination of the case.
He said the reason given by the legislature for not swearing in the PDP lawmaker was amusing and laughable, adding that the court of appeal is the final arbiter for all litigations arising from national and state Assembly elections.
“To this end, the judgement of the Appeal Court declaring Agboola as winner of the Ilorin South constituency’s election cannot be appealed nor can there be any stay of execution of the court judgment”, he said.
Shittu, who said that the action of the leadership of the House should be condemned by all, irrespective of political affiliations, added that it is a violation of court ruling and subversion of democracy.
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