The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed an appeal challenging the dissolution of the state executive committee of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kwara state by the party’s national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
The appeal filed by the chairman of the dissolved state executive committee of the APC, Ishola Balogun Fulani was dismissed for lacking in merit.
Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who delivered ruling in an application praying for the hearing of the appeal held that the notice of appeal and the manner in which the appeal was brought before the apex court were in violation of Section 14 of the 4th Alteration Act of the 1999 constitution.
Specifically, the Supreme Court held that the record of proceedings was transmitted from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court after 14 days required by law for the appellant to do so.
The court said, by the failure to comply with the provision of the law, the appeal had become incompetent and liable to be dismissed.
The dissolved APC executive committee in Kwara state, through its counsel, Yusuf Ali (SAN) had approached the apex court with a motion dated March 4, 2019, praying the court to hear the appeal of the Fulani led executive committee on the ground that it is a preelection matter that must be decided within 60 days, which he said will expire tomorrow (Friday).
However, counsel to Oshiomhole, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN) had opposed to the hearing of the appeal, insisting that the appeal is not a preelection matter that falls under the law on 60 days.
Olujinmi told the court that the appellant premised their case on misconception, adding that there was no where in the court process they filed where they claimed that they participated in any primary election.
Lead counsel to the caretaker committee of the APC in Kwara, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) drew the attention of the court to Section 14 of the 4th Alteration Act of the 1999 constitution which stipulated that the record of appeal must be transmitted to the Supreme Court from the Court of Appeal within 14 days.
Fagbemi added that from the evidence before the Supreme Court, the record was transmitted outside the 14 days allowed by law and that, in addition, the record was compiled by the court registrar as against the appellant allowed by law.
On that ground, Fagbemi argued that the appeal has become incompetent and cannot be heard any longer by the Supreme Court.
Justice Ariwoola in the unanimous ruling of the five-member panel of Justices of the apex court agreed with Fagbemi that the appeal was incompetent, having been filed outside the 14 days permitted by law.
“This application is adjudged to be lacking in merit and should be dismissed.
“In the circumstances, this appeal is hereby dismissed for been incompetent “, Justice Ariwoola state.
The appellant had approached the apex court to challenge the powers of the National Chairman of the APC to arbitrarily dissolve the state executive committee of the party when their four-year tenure had not expired.
Fulani who filed the appeal on behalf of other state executive members of the party, wants the Supreme Court to restrain Oshiomhole from further recognition and dealing with Bolarinwa group as the officers of the party in the state.
The appellant also prayed for another order of the court stopping INEC from accepting the nomination of candidates for the 2019 general elections other than the nomination by his group.
It would be recalled that a High Court in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital had, in February gave judgment in favour of the appellant but the judgment of the High Court was set aside by the Court of Appeal, Ilorin division on the ground that the case of the appellant has become academic exercise, prompting an appeal to the Supreme Court.