By Ade Adeloye….. Ibadan
An Ibadan high court has declared the expulsion of Hon. Oyeniran Oyeniyi Akande by the All Progressive Congress APC, Oyo State chapter unconstitutionally.
Hon. Akande won APC’s primary to contest for the position of member to the Oyo state house of Assembly at Oluyole constituency , but was replaced by Hon .Waheed Abiodun Muideen by APC under the leadership of Chief Akin Oke, the Chairman of APC in Oyo State. The leadership of the party later expelled Akande from the party because he sued the party to court instead of exploring party’s internal mechanism for the settlement.
While delivering judgement in the case yesterday, Justice Ezekiel Oyeyemi Ajayi held that the expulsion of Hon. Oyeniran Oyeniyi Akande by the leadership of APC in Oyo State was illegal, unconstitutionally and of no effect.
Justice Ajayi ruled that the expulsion of Akande contravained section 87sub section 9 of the electorate act of the Nigeria Constitution in Osude versus Azodo, the judgement delivered in Supreme Court in 2010.
The judge noted that going by the position of the above Supreme Court judgement there is no party constitution that superceeds the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of which the Supreme Court is the highest body.
Justice Ajayi held that since the expulsion of Akande from APC was unconstitutionally he remained a bona-fide member of the party in Oyo state.
The trial judge further ruled that the APC under the leadership of Chief Akin Oke in Oyo state erred in law when they said that ‘failure of Hon. Akande to explore the party’s internal mechanism ‘ in settlement of the crisis before going to court was amounted to anti-party activities.
Justice Ajayi emphasised that Hon. Akande is a Nigerian and free to exercise his right under the constitution of the country coupled with fact that section 87/9 of the Nigeria constitution take precident over any other edit or constitution of other organizations, political party, and so on. He gave no order as to court.
Counsel to the claimant, Barrister Soji Opabunmi thanked the judge for the well researched judgement ,but, said he would have been more happy if the court awarded costs against the defendants that it’s All Progressive Congress APC, and Chief Akin Oke who is the APC Chairman in Oyo State.
