Appeal court upholds Kwara APC guber candidature

The Court of Appeal yesterday set aside an earlier ruling by the state High Court and upheld the nomination of Kwara State All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

It argued that the state high court lacked powers to entertain any suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In a unanimous decision on the interlocutory appeals filed by APC, Justice Hamma Akawu Barka, ruled that the originating summons by the Ishola Balogun-Fulani’s faction was not sealed by the registry and that robbed the court of its jurisdiction.

He upheld all four grounds of appeal filed by APC and set aside the October 24, 2018 ruling of the Kwara State High Court, saying AbdulRazaq’s nomination by the National Working Committee (NWC) was in order.

It said a state executive committee of a party was just a branch of its national headquarters and so lacks powers to conduct primaries for president, governor, National Assembly or state Assembly positions.

The Appeal Court also knocked the Kwara High Court for entertaining a suit against INEC on the matter since it has no jurisdiction over it.

It upheld the four grounds of appeal, insisting that the Ishola Balogun-Fulani’s case was defective in all ramifications because the originating summons was defective.

By the ruling, dissolution of the Ishola Balogun-led APC Executive by the Adams Oshiomhole-led NWC now stands.

Meanwhile, the Appeal Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has dismissed the case filled by former Governor Segun Oni challenging the eligibility of Governor Kayode Fayemi to contest the July 14, 2018 gubernatorial election on APC’s platform.

The three-man appeal panel presided over by Justice Adamu Juaro, in a unanimous verdict, dismissed the two grounds on which Oni sought to challenge Fayemi’s candidacy.

In the judgement, which was delivered by Justice Agim, the judge held that Fayemi failure to resign as Minister of Steel and Mines Development to contest the May 12, 2018 governorship primary, in which he emerged candidate, was not enough to disqualify him.

But Fayemi had, through his lawyer, Raheem Balogun, countered Oni’s position that he (Fayemi) was not obligated to comply with article 2 of the guideline.