The court of Appeal sitting in llorin has confirmed Hon. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa as the authentic All Progressives Congress (APC) executive in Kwara State.
The Appeal Court in a judgement read by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa upheld the expulsion of Ishola Balogun-Fulani and his executive members from the party by the National Working Committee of the party.
The court had contended in the judgment that the state executive committee of a party is only an appendage of its national headquarters and is not imbued with the powers to conduct primaries for national elections.
The three-man panel affirmed that the high court ruling was built on nothing as the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the Balogun-Fulani’s case challenging his dismissal as the APC chairman in the state.
Having last week ruled in an interlocutory appeal that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear Balogun-Fulani’s case, the appeal court allowed the APC’s main appeal but dismissed the ‘sister appeal’ by Bolarinwa because it amounted to a “mere academic exercise”.
The court said it would amount to a waste of time ruling on the Bashiru Bolarinwa appeal since the issues in it were similar to the ones in the main appeal filed by the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee of the APC.
Reacting to the judgement, counsel to the National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiohmale, Lawal Victor Jimoh said the Court of Appeal had finally laid to rest all the controversies surrounding the judgement of lower court delivered on 19th December, 2018.
He noted that the judgement had further solidified the candidacy of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and other candidates presented by the National Working Committee of the APC.
Also speaking, counsel to Bashir Bolarinwa, Kamaldeen Gambari said instituting action against INEC in the state high court and failure of lower court to exercise its discretion judicially and judiciously were part of the grounds for the appeal.
Counsel to Ishola Balogun Fulani led executive, Ibrahim Ayodeji Abdulazeez said his client had already appealed against the judgement of Court of Appeal on interlocutory appeal.
