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Kwara Assembly Ignores Court's Directive, Continues To Recognise Sacked APC Lawmaker As Member

An Appeal Court had sacked Oluwanilo and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue a Certificate of Return to Abdulraheem Agboola of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The Kwara State House of Assembly has continued to recognise a lawmaker of the All Progressives Congress, Abdulazeez Hassan Oluwanilo, as a member of the Assembly despite a court order sacking him from the legislature.

An Appeal Court had sacked Oluwanilo and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue a Certificate of Return to Abdulraheem Agboola of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The ruling of the apex court made Agboola the only PDP lawmaker in the state's Assembly.

However, since the ruling of the court, the Assembly had not only refused to recognise Agboola as the elected lawmaker from Ilorin South but also continued to pay Oluwanilo all salary and allowances.

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Speaker of the Assembly, Yakubu Salihu, has also given a standing order to the security of the Assembly complex to deny Agboola entry and always turn him back whenever he attempted to enter the premises of the House.

The latest execution of such order was carried on Wednesday when the Kwara Assembly resumed plenary after about three months of forced recess occasioned by the Coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking with SaharaReporters, Agboola described as illegal the activities of the House, saying he was the duly elected representative of Ilorin South.

He said, “The law is clear about that. There is an appeal and we won with the court asking them to swear me in.

"He (Oluwanilo) later said he is not satisfied with the judgment of the Court of Appeal and went to Federal High Court where his case was struck out. I don’t know what he is still looking for in the House.

“This morning, there was a public advancement asking all honourable members to resume plenary but they did not let me in.”

He added that Clerk of the Assembly, Hajia Halimat Kperogi, has deliberately refused to introduce him to the Speaker as the new member of the Assembly despite the court ruling.

“The clerk is completely out of constitutional responsibility.

“What she is supposed to do is ask me to submit the Certificate of Return given to me by INEC and do the needful with the Speaker.

“I tried to get in touch with the Clerk because it is the Clerk that will introduce the new member to the Speaker.”

All attempt to get Oluwanilo to comment on the issue was abortive as he refused to answer calls placed to his mobile line and did not respond to text messages sent to him.

Also, Chairman, House Committee on Information, Culture and Tourism, Awolola Ayokunle, as well as the Clerk of the Assembly both refused to respond to calls and text messages sent to their mobile lines.

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Politics