Nigeria Content Online

The election of the
governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki as a senator has become the
subject of litigation. A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
and a senatorial contestant in the party’s primary election, L’Aziz
Ayinla Kolawole Jimoh wants the governor’s election as senator
overturned.

Mr Jimoh asked the
Federal High Court in Abuja to declare that at the time of collection
and submission of nomination forms for the senatorial election, Mr
Saraki was a presidential contestant.

Mr Jimoh went to
court to seek for a declaration that the purported election of Mr
Saraki as the PDP senatorial candidate for the Kwara-Central senatorial
district at the re-run of the party primary election which was held in
Ilorin on Saturday, January 29, 2011, is illegal, unconstitutional, and
therefore null and void. In the suit, the PDP is the 1st defendant
while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the 2nd
defendant, and Mr Saraki is the 3rd defendant.

Mr Jimoh also
sought a court order to restrain the PDP from authenticating,
recognising, or accepting the result of the re-run primary election,
and the nomination of Mr Saraki as the PDP’s senatorial candidate for
the Kwara Central senatorial district.

Furthermore he said
that he paid for, and was duly issued with the nomination form to seek
nomination as the PDP senatorial candidate in the district.

“Apart from myself,
one Gold Sola Isiaka from Ilorin-West of the Kwara-Central district
also obtained and paid for the necessary forms of the party and was
also screened and cleared to contest the primaries of the party,” Mr
Jimoh said. “I know that myself and Gold Sola Isiaka were screened and
cleared to contest the 1st defendant’s primaries on 30th day of
December 2010 by the screening panel committee of the 1st defendant.”

He stated that only
he and Mr Isiaka contested for the party ticket at the party’s primary
election held at the Ansar ul-Islam School, Okekere, Ilorin on January
7, 2011.

“At the end of the
said election, I was credited with 12 votes while Gold Sola Isiaka was
credited with 1,064 votes and he was accordingly declared the winner,”
Mr Jimoh said.

No internal democracy

Mr Jimoh said that
while at home on Friday, January 28, 2011, the secretary of the Kwara
State PDP, Yekini Ilobu brought to him a letter from the state chapter
of the party. The letter stated that Mr Isiaka, the elected senatorial
candidate of the party had withdrawn and a proposed re-run election was
slated for January 29, 2011. He said that at the re-run primary
election, Mr Saraki and one Yunus AbdulRahaman were listed as the
aspirants.

“I know that the
3rd defendant and Yunus AbdulRahaman were not aspirants at the close of
nomination and screening on December 29, 2010 and the primary election
held on January 7, 2011,” Mr Jimoh said.

He also said that
by the result of the re-run election, Mr Saraki was declared the winner
with over 1000 illegal votes and the result was sent to the INEC who
received and acted on same.

“Even though I did
not appear in the purported re-run, I was credited with five illegal
votes by the agents of the PDP and Mr Saraki who conducted the re-run,”
Mr Jimoh said. “I know that with the withdrawal of Gold Bola Isiaka, I
became the candidate of the party who is to be confirmed at the re-run
primary election and whose name is to be submitted to INEC.”

He added that the
conduct of the PDP in accepting and adopting Mr Saraki and, or any
person other than himself as the senatorial candidate is against the
spirit of internal democracy and democratic governance.

The acting chief judge of the Federal High Court, Ibrahim Auta,
ordered Saraki to file his response and the matter was adjourned to May
26, 2011 for hearing.