Kwara SDP boss sues national, state factional officers
[FILES] INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu. Photo; FACBOOK/INECNIGERIA
The pioneer chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Kwara State, Ibrahim Yahaya, has approached a Federal High Court (FHC) in Ilorin to halt further recognition of a factional chairman in the party.
He also sued 18 national and state executive committee members of the party over the control of the party structure in the state.
Defendants in the suit FHC/IL/CS/40/2022, filed before the FHC on June 8, 2022, include the National Chairman of the SDP, Dr Olu Agunloye; National Secretary, Shehu Gabam; factional chairman of Kwara SDP, Azeez Afolabi; Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Bashir Bolarinwa.
Yahaya and three members of his faction are seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the first to fifth defendants and their agents from recognising and accepting Afolabi, other members of his faction and other SDP members of the executive committee at all levels in Kwara as the officials of the SDP at the state, local council and ward levels in the state based on the election conducted at the purported state congress of the SDP on April 26, 2022.
The plaintiffs are also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the first to fifth defendants and their agents from acting or giving effect to any resolution, decision and activity such as the election of delegates and primary or conducted by the Afolabi and other defendants.
They are also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining Afolabi and his factional executives (and other SDP members of the executive committee at all levels in Kwara) from parading themselves as state officers, local council and ward officers of the party based on the election conducted at the purported state congress of the SDP held on April 26, 2022.
Similarly, the plaintiffs also sought an order of the court directing the first to fifth defendants to “recognise the plaintiffs as members of Kwara SDP exco, members of all the local council and ward executive committee of the SDP faction led by the first plaintiff (Yahaya) in their respective capacities, which include the chairman, secretary, treasurer and state women speaker respectively.”
The suit, which was filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by their counsel, Dr. Solomon Afolabi, was supported by a 43-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Yahaya.
