PDP Asks Governors Forum To Intervene In Kwara Assembly Crisis

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kwara State chapter has appealed to the Nigeria Governors Forum NGF to intervene in the political crisis rocking the state House of Assembly over a court order affirming PDP’s Jimoh Agboola as winner of the Ilorin South constituency’s elections.

The state chairman of the party, Engineer Kola Shittu said this at a crowded press conference held at the party secretariat in Ilorin.

The main opposition party in the state urged the NGF to compel the state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, to follow democratic norms and values in resolving the imbroglio.

Recall that the leadership of the state house of assembly allegedly refused to allow the winner of the Court of Appeal judgement and the PDP lawmaker, Abdulraheem Agboola, into the Assembly for swearing-in and documentation since he got the judgement a few days ago.

The appellate court had declared Agboola of the PDP as the 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).

The leadership of the house of assembly had hinged their refusal on the stay of execution of the appeal court judgement while the Peoples Democratic Party countered that the position of the house of assembly is not known to law because Appellate court is the last point.

Engr. Kola Shittu described alleged the refusal of the state House of Assembly to swear in Agboola as abuse of power and disregard for rule of law, calling on the leader of the NGF, Governor Kayode Fayemi, to intervene.

He said, “We call on the Nigeria Governors Forum, 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”, he said.

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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 litigation 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 election cannot be appealed nor can there be any stay of execution of the court judgement”, he said.