Kwara APC Crisis: Bolarinwa, Balogun-Fulani factions to know fate, as court delivers judgement, Wednesday

By Mumini Abdulkareem

The lingering crisis rocking the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will on Wednesday be brought to a halt as an Ilorin High court is set to deliver judgement on the matter.
The case which started around May this year had lasted several months and traversed more than one court in the state.
Since the defection of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki from the party, the Balogun-Fulani led executives and the Bashiru Omolaja Bolarinwa faction have engaged in a legal tussle over which is the authentic party in the state.
At the last hearing of the case under Justice Taoheed S. Umar on Friday, the judge after hearing the briefs from both counsel fixed judgement for Wednesday.
The judgement whichever way it goes, will be a significant turning point in the political sphere in Kwara and will have a major impact on the party’s fortunes in 2019.
Barr. Olaolu Ali (SAN) and Salman Jawondo are the counsel for the Balogun-Fulani and BOB factions respectively and were both in court during the last sitting.
The Balogu-Fulani-led faction insisted that it remained the authentic faction in the state and dragged the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee to court restraining them from dissolving the Kwara State executive committee of the party,
The state High Court equally directed the APC National Chairman, to work with the Alhaji Ishola Balogun Fulani – led State Executive Committee (SEC).
It was gathered that among some of the prayers canvassed at the court by the BOB-led faction was that the court should give more time to prove that the Balogun-Fulani-led faction was working for Bukola Saraki and that their candidates for the 2019 election did not obtain their forms from the national executive of the party which the court disagreed because of time lapse and contrary evidence.
The BOB faction had also dragged the Ishola Balogun-Fulani group to another court before Justice Sulyman Akanbi, on Friday asking the court to declare him the authentic party chairman.
He prayed the court to recognise the congress that produced him and his executive and nullify that of Balogun-Fulani.
On his part, Balogun-Fulani, through his counsel, Bola Rasaq Gold had filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter. Gold in his argument prayed the court to dismiss the originating summon of BOB, saying what the faction filed before Justice Akanbi, is an abuse of court.