DISOBEDIENCE OF COURT RULING BY THE LEADERSHIP OF KWARA ASSEMBLY HAS BECOME HALLMARK OF APC GOVERNMENT - PDP CHAIRMAN
TEXT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY Engr Shittu Kola The CHAIRMAN OF THE KWARA STATE CHAPTER OF THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP) ON THE DISOBIDIENCE OF COURT RULING BY THE LEADERSHIP OF THE KWARA STATE HOUSE ASSEMBLY TO SWEAR-IN HON. ABDULRAHEEM AGBOOLA, HELD ON FRIDAY, 13 DECEMBER, 2019.
Good afternoon, gentlemen of the press. I welcome you all to this press conference and thank you for honouring our invitation.
We have called this press conference to draw the attention of the media, civil society groups and the general public to the blatant refusal of the leadership of the Kwara State House of Assembly to admit and swear-in Honourable Abdulraheem Agboola as the member representing Ilorin South State constituency, as ordered by the Court of Appeal.
As you all know, Agboola, a member of our party was recently declared winner of the Ilorin South State constituency election by the Court of Appeal, thereby unseating Abdulazeez Elewu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Consequently, he was last week Thursday, presented Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
However, Agboola has, on three different occasions, been denied entry into the Assembly complex for documentation and swearing-in despite presenting his Certificate of Return. He was barred from entering the Complex on the order of the Speaker, Yakubu Danladi.
The willful disobedience of a court order by the leadership of the Assembly is a clear abuse of power and utter disregard for the rule of law, which has become a hallmark of the APC government, both at the state and national level.
Nigerians and the international community are aware of the several court rulings the APC-led Federal Government has disobeyed in recent times, including orders granting the likes of Omoyele Sowore, Sambo Dasuki and Ibrahim El Zalzakky bail. We are, therefore, not suprised by the unlawful action and disobedience of court judgement by the leadership of the Kwara State House of Assembly. Indeed, the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has set a bad precedent.
We find amusing the excuse given by the House on why it is yet to swear-in Hon. Agboola. The Assembly through the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Culture and Tourism, Awolola Ayokunle, said it was served a court summon joining the Speaker and the Clerk to the House, in a motion on notice, filed in the Federal High Court of Nigeria, by Hon. Hassan Abdulazeez Elewu, seeking to restrain the House from swearing in Hon. Agboola pending the determination of the case.
This excuse is not only untenable, it is silly, unreasonable, laughable and embarrassing, to say the least. As we all know, 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 Ilorin South constituency election cannot be appealed nor can there be any stay of execution of the court judgment.
Hon. Agboola was also asked by the House of Assembly to get a letter from INEC before he could be admitted and swore-in by the Assembly. As directed by the House, Hon. Agboola was at INEC office to demand for the letter the KWHA requested and was told that the Commission doesn't give any letter after the certificate of Return has been issued. The INEC official said not even the President or any federal lawmaker was issued any letter after the Certificate of Return was given to them.
It is even more embarrassing that the legislature that ought to be promoting the rule of law is the one treating valid court judgement with disdain. The action of the leadership of the Kwara State House of Assembly must be condemned by all, irrespective of political affiliation as this is a clear violation of court ruling and subversion of democracy.
We know that a larger percentage of the current lawmakers in the House are naive, they should, however, not allowed themselves to be used as political pawns by the Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq-led executive arm of government to perpetuate illegality and subvert the will of the people.
The PDP notes that willful disobedience of court order by the leadership of Kwara Assembly amounts to recklessness and contempt of court, which undermines our judicial system and the sanctity of our constitution. By undermining the rule of law, disobeying court orders and disregarding INEC, the same institution that oversaw the elections of the Assembly members, the Kwara Assembly is inadvertently destroying its own legitimacy as a law-making body. A law maker should not be a law breaker.
We, therefore, demand that the leadership of the Kwara State House of Assembly respect the rule of law by admitting and swearing in Hon. Abdulraheem Agboola as the duly elected representative of Ilorin South state constituency in the Assembly.
The party also calls on Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to call his party men to order, and it is glaring that the House isn't acting in isolation on this case. Despite his claims of being a democrat, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has consistently influenced the largely inexperienced Assembly to do his biddings including this latest issue of Hon. Agboola. Both the Governor and House have made a great error and a very undemocratic stand.
We hereby call on the Nigeria Governors Forum under the leadership of His Excellency, Governor Kayode Fayemi to call Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to order and educate him on the democratic norms and values required under a democratic space like ours.
We recall that under the PDP led-administration in the state, we had elections contested and won by members of opposition parties as councillors, council chairmen and House of Assembly members who were respected and given their respective rights as required under a democratic setting.
We call on INEC, Security Agencies, Local and International NGOs to call out the Governor of Kwara state 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.
Signed :: Engr Kola Shittu
PDP Chairman Kwara State
Thanks and God bless.
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