A lawsuit seeking to disqualify SDP candidates in Kwara dismissed by the court
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Kwara State’s lawsuit seeking the annulment of all candidates for the various positions in the 2023 elections was dismissed by a Federal High Court in Ilorin.
In his ruling, Justice Muhammed Sanni stated that the lawsuit included internal party activity over which the court lacked jurisdiction.
Recall that Comrade Ibrahim Mabolaje petitioned the court for multiple reliefs, pleading with it to nullify the election that produced the SDP candidates.
According to the judiciary correspondent for Sobi FM, Mobolaji based his argument on the assertion that, in his capacity as acting party chairman, it was his responsibility to oversee the election process.
You may recall that in April 2022, members of the Lai Mohammed-aligned All Progressives Congress (APC) section in Kwara State formally declared their party’s defection to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Kwara South factional Senatorial Chairman Mr. Rasaki Alabi made the announcement on behalf of the group at the party secretariat in Ilorin, explaining that the faction had decided to leave the APC due to the inhumane treatment they had received from the national leadership party.
“Events within the party have continued to cause us significant concern since the last time we spoke with you, necessitating the necessity for us to come out again to clarify our position,” he claimed. You are all definitely present to see the treatment we receive.
We were given the assurance that there wouldn’t be any party congresses in Kwara till another registration drive was performed after formally complaining to the National Appeal Committee on Registration, led by Mallam Adamu Farouq.
“Unfortunately, though, this was not to be. Offered that justice itself requires that a complainant in a disagreement not be denied of the fruits of his or her complaints, he stated, “despite all the pledges and guarantees given, nothing substantial ever materialized.
According to Alabi, it would be accurate to claim that former national caretaker committee chairman Mallam Mai Mala Buni and Kwara state governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq made the decision to exclude them from the party against their wishes.
And to make matters worse, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s lawyer and advocate, Senator Abdullai Adamu, who formerly led the party’s National Reconciliation Committee and refused us a fair hearing, is now the party’s national chairman.
How then can we have any faith that justice will be served in this case? We no longer believe that we have a future in this party, and it would be safer for us to find elsewhere where our democratic thoughts and opinions would be recognized,” he queried.
Alabi claimed that despite their contributions to the party’s success in 2019, the national leadership of the party does not believe that they are politically important in the state, therefore they have no choice but to pitch their tent with another party.
Credit: Sobi FM
