Kwara Assembly Denies Lone-PDP Lawmaker Entry to Assembly Complex

The House of Assembly in Kwara State on Tuesday locked out a lawmaker elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon Abdulraheem Agboola.

The Lawmaker claimed that he was locked out of the Assembly on the order of the Speaker, Rt Hon Yakubu Salihu.

Members of the PDP in the state had stormed the Assembly to protest alleged refusal of leadership of the House to admit Agboola, who was declared winner of the Ilorin South state constituency.

Agboola recently won his case at the Appeal Court, thereby unseating Hassan Abdulazeez Oluwanilo, the APC lawmaker earlier declared winner by the INEC.

The appeal court victory means Agboola will be the only member elected on the platform of PDP in the 24-member Assembly.

Speaking with journalists at the Assembly complex, the lawmaker said the House had denied him entry since he got his Certificate of Return from INEC last Thursday.

“As we all know, Appeal Court is the last destination for the House of Assembly election petition process. Its ruling has declared me winner.

“I started from the tribunal. I have my certificate of return from the INEC national headquarters, Abuja. The INEC in Kwara did the official presentation.

“According to the process, I have to come to the House in person to do documentation with the Clerk of the House in order to verify the genuineness of the certificate and ratify it.

“This is our third time of coming here. Since last Thursday that the certificate was issued, they have not attended to us.

“The Speaker, the Clerk and all of them have made themselves not to be available. We’ve been patient, telling our supporters not to be violent.

“This is the House we built. I served here between 1999 and 2003.

“We got here by 8:00 am today ‘Tuesday’, but the security personnel said the Speaker would address us when he comes. We said there’s no need for any address but entry into the House,” he said.

In response, chairman, House Committee on Information, Culture and Tourism, Hon Awolola Ayokunle, said the House was served “courts summon joining the Speaker and the Clerk to the House in a motion on notice with No. FHC/IL/CS/157/2019, filed at the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Ilorin judicial division, holding at Ilorin by Hon. Hassan Abdulazeez Elewu, seeking to restrain the House from swearing in the PDP candidate pending determination of the case.

“As the first arm of government charged with the responsibility of lawmaking, the House cannot but abide by the law. However, the House is restrained from taking further steps in respect of the certificate of return issued to the PDP candidate for the Ilorin South constituency seat until the determination of the above said suit scheduled to be moved on Monday, December 16, 2019.”

He assured members of general public that the House was ready to abide by the rule of law at all times.