The Supreme Court has struck out a suit by former executive committee members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State for lack of merit.
A five-member panel of justices in a unanimous judgment read by Justice Olukayode Ariwola, on Wednesday, held that the appeal was in violation of the time provided by law, having been brought from the Court of Appeal to the apex court outside the 14 days required to do so.
The Ishola Balogun-Fulani-led APC officials, who are loyal to Senate President Bukola Saraki, were allegedly dissolved by the national headquarters led by Adams Oshiomhole in July, 2018.
The National Working Committee (NWC) replaced the executive with a caretaker committee headed by Bashir Bolarinwa over alleged anti-party activities.
In a suit by their counsel, Yusuf Ali (SAN), the dissolved executive on March 4 submitted that it is a pre-election one, which must be decided within 60 days.
Both counsel to the APC chairman, Adams Oshiomhole and APC counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, had argued that the matter is not an election matter, and therefore requires no urgency, adding that Section 14 of the Fourth Alteration Act of the 1999 Constitution stipulates that the record of appeal must be transmitted to the Supreme Court within 14 days from the Court of Appeal to Supreme Court.
The decision has sustained the position of Bolarinwa as chairman and Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as governorship candidate of APC in Kwara State.
